Ballads and Bonfires
by Wandering Jay
Summary: Austin and Ally fic right here, everybody! *A fan of Austin's asks him to perform a ballad at her beach party, but there's one small problem: Ally just can't write one? Wonder why? So does Austin. And he's determined to find out. T just in case.
1. The Proposal

**Hola, everybody! Okay, this is my first Austin and Ally fic (a show which I loved from the earliest promos) and hopefully not my last. Yes, it is a multi. I don't think I ever write anything else! :) **

**I know I've been MIA for a long time, but lemme tell you: high school is NO JOKE. Especially when you're transplanted to a Catholic school outside your district with people you've only just met and hideous, HIDEOUS uniforms. Sigh... Anyway, enough depression. Let's get on with the story!**

**Ballads and Bonfires **

**Chapter 1 - The Proposal**

It was a normal day at Sonic Boom in Miami, Florida. Business was, well, booming and salesgirl Ally Dawson was having trouble keeping up. "Yes, sir, the violins are over that way!" she shouted over her shoulder as she turned back quickly to the woman to whom she'd been explaining the difference between plastic and wooden recorders. Yep, she needed a vacation.

"Hey!" cheered Ally's best friend Trish Rodriguez***** as she strode into the music store, slurping away at a bright yellow slushie. "Guess who got a job at Frozen Sweets'n'Treats!" Ally giggled as the woman stalked away to the kazoo section. "The same person who's dressed as an ice cream cone?" she guessed, taking in the multi-coloured sprinkles on Trish's hat and her waffle cone dress.

Trish nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. It's lasted a lot longer than any of my other jobs. I've already been hired for..." She paused to check her watch. "...3 hours!" Ally propped her elbows up on the main counters and eyed her best friend suspiciously. "When were you supposed to start your shift?" she questioned. Trish calculated the number quickly and frowned. "Um, 2 hours ago." Her mood swiftly picked up again, though, as she shrugged and said, "Well, no point in going now, is there?"

Ally rolled her eyes and was about to lecture her on the merits of being a good employee when a voice rang out from the stairs: "Hey Ally!" Ally, Trish and all the customers in the store looked up to see Austin Moon waving at them. "Sorry to disturb you," he called out quieter. "Please, continue your shopping." Then he hurried down the stairs, with his best friend Dez Worthy***** hot on his heels.

"Ally, Ally, Ally," he chanted as he finally reached the counter, leaning towards the brunette with a big grin on his face. "You have GOT to see this." Dez produced a laptop from his backpack of wonders and opened it up. On the screen was a girl about their age with curly reddish hair, glasses and an eager, excited look in her blue eyes. Just as Ally asked if it was a picture, the girl chirped, "Hi! Omigosh, you're Ally Dawson, right? Austin Moon's songwriter?"

Ally shrieked in surprise and grabbed the counter. The girl seemed to recoil and said quickly, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you! My name's Carisa Jenkin and I have a proposal for you and Austin." Trish clapped her hands and stepped closer to the laptop. "Well, I'm Austin's manager, so all business negotiations go through me," she said in an authoritative voice, then added, "Is there money involved?"

Carisa nodded sagely, her smile widening. "Oh, yes. He'll definitely get paid." Trish tossed her hands up in consent and shouted, "Well, I'm all for it!" Ally swatted the diminutive girl away. "Wait just a second," she told no one in particular. Secretly, she was still thinking about the fact that Carisa had addressed her as "Austin Moon's songwriter," as if she belonged to him. That wasn't any different than Trish being Austin's manager, though, was it?

Austin wrung his hands impatiently. "Basically, Carisa's having a big beach party this weekend and wants me to be the entertainment! Isn't that awesome?" he told Ally, holding out his arms as he waited for her scream with excitement. Ally, however, stood stock-still. "So you're renting yourself out now?" she snickered, raising her eyebrows. It came out meaner than she had intended, but she couldn't take it back now.

The blonde's eyes narrowed considerably, but Austin evidently decided to ignore her as he tried again. "Yeah, that's what celebrities do. They perform for their fans. Imagine that, Ally! I have fans! Isn't that awesome?" Out went his arms again, as if he had presented a fantastic opportunity for the group. Which, come to think of it, he had.

Ally bent over to look Carisa in the eye. "What's the catch?" she asked plainly, her arms folded in front of them. Austin sighed, exasperated as Carisa pushed her glasses up on her nose. "Well, I tried to tell him upstairs that I'd really like it if he could, as well as his usual fast songs, do a ballad." Dez immediately piped up, "Oooh, sorry, Austin's not capable of doing those."

Austin turned to his friend. "Since when?" he asked, surprised. "Since this afternoon when I smoked you on the half-pipe!" Dez crowed in reply. Trish buried her face in her hands and her voice came up muffled. "Dez, Carisa said a ballad. As in a slow song, usually about love. Where in your little ginger brain does a ballad have anything to do with skateboarding?" Dez looked shocked at this revelation as Ally turned back to Carisa, who was thoroughly confused.

"Look, Carisa, I think that might be a -" Ally couldn't get in another word befor Austin swooped in and cut her off. "A great idea!" he hooted, although Ally thought he might be a little fuzzy on the meaning of the word, too. "I'll have Ally whip something up and we'll see you Saturday at 4!" Carisa waved one last time and the screen went black.

"Austin!" cried a frustrated Ally. "Why did you do that?" Austin crossed his arms defiantly and replied, "Because if I didn't know better, I could've sworn you were going to end that sentence with 'problem.'"

Ally made a move to tear out her dark brown curls. "I was! And you know why? Because I can't write ballads!" Everyone was paying attention: Trish stopped smacking Dez's shoulders, Austin stared intently at Ally and Dez stopped cowering from Trish. "What do you mean, you can't?" Austin demanded. "You're Ally Dawson, songwriter extraordinaire!"

"I know very well who I am, thanks," snapped Ally, sitting down heavily in a nearby chair. "But love songs...well, love in general isn't really one of my strong points." Trish made a huge gasping noise, like she was sucking all the air out of the room. "Ohhhh, you mean because you never - " Immediately, Ally shot Trish a glare that said something along the lines of "Finish that sentence and losing your job will be the least of your worries. Well, even less than it is now."

"Never...what?" Austin asked, blissfully ignorant of the death stares being traded between the girls. "C'mon, I need to know here! The fate of my gig depends on it!" Dez held up the video camera he never went anywhere without. "And my video! How can I have a video of Austin being worshiped by native dancers on a beach before a mighty bonfire without the beach or bonfire? Without those things, it's just a bunch of weird guys with paint on their bodies."

Ally didn't bother to try and figure out what had just been said. Dez was beyond strange. "Look, I don't want to talk about this any more," she said firmly, snatching up her songbook from the counter. "Please, just call Carisa and cancel the performance. Trish, you're in charge. I'll be upstairs if you need me." And with that, Ally tiredly headed for her practice room, very aware of Austin's stare on her back.

**YOLA! So what'd you think? Are you wondering what Ally's big secret is? It should be pretty obvious if you think about what kind of person she is... Also, I'm thinking Trish (who's shaping up to be my fave character) will have a new job each chapter. Feedback on this? **

**I want to write this like I'd imagine a real episode of the show, so tell me if it's not realistic. Except for Dez, because I know I can't write him very well. Maybe when we've seen more episodes, I'll do it better. Scroll down for the asterisks!**

***1: They still haven't given Trish a last name in the show, so I'm just gonna use the last name of her actress, Raini Rodriguez.**

***2: Ditto for Dez and Calum Worthy. **

**REVIEW IT, BABY!**

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	2. Secret's Out

**Hey again, everybody. This has gotta be the fastest update I've ever made, but I couldn't help myself from working on this in science. And geography. And business. Aren't you proud of me?**

**Cheers to rainbowdipNdotz for your excellent guessing skills! This chapter is dedicated to YOU!**

**I am not ashamed to admit that I'm freaking out over upcoming episode three, Secrets and Songbooks. If you haven't see the promo yet, hit YouTube and watch it, baby! It sounds SO awesome and I'm crossing my fingers for some Auslly cuteness (Austin and Ally's couple name)! Let's hope! **

**Disclaimer time!**

**Liana: Hmmm. Who shall do it today?**

**Ally: Not me, please. The whole stage fright thing, y'know.**

**Liana: Just for that, it WILL be you!**

**Ally: Um. Okay... Li-Li-Liana doesn't...um...she doesn't...own Au-Au - **

**Liana: Oh, for House of Anubis' sake! Austin, save her!**

**Austin: Liana doesn't own Austin and Ally or any of the songs she might decide to pretend Ally wrote. WHAT UP, DEZ?**

**Liana: Yeah! Austin coming through in the clutch!**

**Hmm. That got surprisingly long-winded. Whatever. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Chapter 2 - Secret's Out**

"Please?"

"No."

"C'mon."

"No."

"Are you kidding me?"

"NO!" screeched Trish as she yanked at the hem of her turquoise jacket. She'd left Sonic Boom a few minutes prior to return her Sweets'n'Treats uniform and as soon as she'd returned, Austin had bombarded her with pleas for Ally's secret. "Austin, I can do this all day. Just as soon as I quit my job."

Austin stared at her. "I thought you got fired from Frozen Sweets'n'Treats," he commented, ignoring Dez, who was filming the conversation.

"Oh, I did." Trish shook out her wild dark ringlets. "But I've started predicting when I'll get fired from one job and lining up another one right after. For example, my shift at Urban Threads starts...now!" Her watch beeped in accordance, but the girl didn't move.

"Well?" Austin asked. "Aren't you going to go?" Trish scoffed, crossing her arms. "I would, but the second I leave, no doubt you'll go upstairs and force Ally to tell you, which she will because she can't keep a secret to save her life," she snapped at him fiercely. "Besides, I already bought this sweet jacket with my employee discount. What more is there to do?"

Dez stepped in front of her and said, "Hey Trish, is that a new store across the hall? With a "Now Hiring" sign in the window?" As soon as Trish spun around and ran out the door with a shrill "Where?", Dez shoved his blonde best friend into action. Austin bounded up the stairs and disappeared into the practice room.

**A few minutes earlier...**

Ally tapped the keys on the piano, playing the soft melody she'd written in her songbook. Abruptly, she stopped, ripped the page out and tossed it across the room, groaning in disgust. _This isn't working! _she thought to herself, laying her back down on the piano bench. _There's no way I'll ever get this thing written unless I...but I can't. _

Suddenly, Ally perked up, her brown eyes flashing as her back straightened. _Unless...someone does it for me. Maybe it's crazy. But it just might work. Hmm. But who? _Just then, in dashed an out-of-breath Austin.

Ally's breath hitched in her throat as the boy gulped in a huge breath of air. His hair was mussed - even more than usual - and sh pondered if it would be weird if she reached up and - Whoa! Where had that come from?

"Ally?" said Austin gently, rubbing the back of his neck. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. "Look, I know you don't want to tell me about, well, whatever's going on, but I'm just saying that I'm here if you change your mind." Before he could flash her a famous Austin Moon smile, Ally beat him to it and smiled brightly. "Okay," she said simply, sitting up and folding her hands neatly in her lap.

Austin's dark brown eyes widened. "Really?" he asked incredulously. "And you're not going to sic Trish on me for coming in, right? Because she's on the rampage down there." As if to emphasize his point, a yelp from Dez was heard downstairs, followed by a crash of cymbals and what sounded like the hooting of a monkey. Austin shrugged. "See?"

Ally laughed and stood up, brushing out her red floral skirt. All of a sudden, she was a little more aware of her appearance. "Okay, well, if I tell you this, you take it to your grave. You get me?" she leaned over Austin in the most intimidating manner she could muster and he leaned backwards, nodding vigorously.

"Okay. Promise not to laugh?" Again, Austin nodded, waiting. Ally took a deep breath, closed her eyes and let 'er rip: 'I've never had a boyfriend."***** She opened her eyes to find Austin biting his bottom lip, holding in his laughter. "Oh," he managed to get out. "Is that all? I thought it was going to be something embarrassing."

Ally's eyes narrowed and she turned away from him. "Fine, go ahead and laugh," she called over her shoulder. "But I do have a plan on how to fix this."

The boy edged closer to her and grabbed her shoulders, turning her around. "What kind of plan?" he asked. Ally swallowed and began awkwardly, "In order for me to write a love song, I'm going to need some sort of romantic experience. For that to happen, I'm going to need a boyfriend. And so, I thought maybe - "

Again, Austin cut her off. "Whoa, Ally!" he held up his hands in front of himself to stop her. "Look, I'm flattered that you're actually asking ME, but I just don't think of you that way. Okay? Thanks." Ally snickered, combing her fingers through her hair. "You're an egomaniac," she replied bluntly, to which Austin shrugged.

"I was asking you to FIND me a boyfriend, not BE my boyfriend. Don't be ridiculous." Austin nodded in understanding. "Ohhhh. That makes more sense. Okay,but how am I supposed to do that?" he asked her, pacing the length of the room. "I dunno. Hold auditions?"

Austin stared at Ally disbelievingly. "You really think that's gonna help us find a guy that you're gonna want to write a song about?" Ally mimicked his casual shrug. "Worth a shot, right?"

Sighing, Austin nodded and headed for the door. Just before he left, however, he turned to face Ally again. "Hey, um, just for the record. Why would that be so ridiculous?"

Ally looked up from where she was jotting down a lyric about looking someone in the eyes. That was romantic, right? "Why would what be ridiculous?" she asked him. Austin blushed and refused to meet her eyes. "You know," he said, his voice slightly shaky. "Me being your boyfriend. Why would that be ridiculous?"

The brunette's mouth fell open, but she quickly recovered, stating, "Oh, we just wouldn't be a good match, that's all. I mean, we have almost nothing in common. C'mon, Austin. It's obvious." Austin stepped closer to her, his eyes still trained on his feet. "Well, yeah. But opposites attract sometimes, right? It's just - "

For once, Austin was the one to be cut off. "Why do you care anyway?" Immediately, Austin shut up and turned to face the door. "No reason. Just curious," he said, thankful he was turned away from her in case his face displayed his hurt. As Austin went out the door, neither teenager heard the steps creeping away from the door or the nearly-silent "And that's a wrap."

**BOOM! And just like that, this chapter is finito. I don't think that's really my best work and I probably whipped through my editing too fast, but I've got science homework that I should be doing, so that's all you're getting tonight. Who do you think was hiding outside the door? And how much did they hear? Tell me in your reviews and maybe you can be the next dedication!**

***1 - Yes, I know you all knew that was coming. BUT, I bet you thought that was going to be the excuse for Austin and Ally to get together. Nuh-uh. Be patient, though.**

**Oh, and who else has a weird feeling those auditions are NOT going to go well?**

**Review if you think Ross Lynch (Austin's actor) is gorgeous! And don't lie. I know you do. **

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	3. Audition Day

**'Ello, everybody! GEEZ. I am spoiling you with these updates! Don't get too comfortable because I can't guarantee this'll last. I had to rush through my science homework to do this, but admittedly, it was pretty easy. Now, I just want a hot shower and my bed. But I promised myself I'd do this first, so...here it is! Enjoy!**

**Everybody, I am LOVING the reviews! I read them over lunch period at school and they pretty much make my day SO much better! Please keep reviewing! Trust me, I need it.**

**Seddiefan64, I am also a teenage girl who loves love. I'm also always seriously excited to see your reviews because they're so long and detailed and sweet and...well, thanks for being you! This, my friend, is a chapter dedicated to YOU!**

**Disclaimer, baby!**

**Liana: Tonight's disclaimer is brought to you by Trish!**

**Trish: Are you gonna pay me?**

**Liana: Don't you have a job?**

**Trish: Eh, I'm between them right now, okay?**

**Liana: Whatever. Here's five bucks. Just do it.**

**Trish: DONE! Liana doesn't own Austin or Ally or me or Dez and she certainly doesn't own the kangaroo. Disney does. Lucky ducks. She also doesn't own the ballad that Ally's going to write. Surprisingly, neither does Ally. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go see Bernie Alabaster for a job...**

**Liana: That girl is so weird. That's why I love 'er! :)**

**Onward to Austin and Ally World!**

**Chapter 3 - Audition Day**

Her feet propped up on a chair downstairs, Ally scribbled away on a sheet of paper. Trish eyed her as she pulled her poofy hair back into a ponytail, a red and yellow baseball cap squashed down over her curls. "Ally, don't you think this is just a little crazy?"

Ally shrugged. "No. What's crazy about me writing interview questions for Austin to ask my potential fake boyfriends so that I can finally write a love song?" Trish stared at her, hands on her hips. "Do you hear yourself?"

As soon as Trish took another step forward, Ally pinched her nostrils shut. "Ew, Trish! You reek!" Trish moved back a couple steps, sighing sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm working at Bernie's Exotic Pets now and, well, let's just say that Pepe Le Pew***** took a liking to me."***** Ally groaned and held up a perfume bottle, giving her best friend a good spritzing.

"Anyway, Ally," Trish continued after she was drenched in the scent of Smelly Meadow.***** "You're going through a lot of trouble just so that Austin gets this gig." Ally avoided her friend's eyes, replying, "No, I'm not. I mean, sure, he'll get a new song and tons more adoring fans and a fun night in the spotlight. But...I get to learn how to write love songs."

Trish cocked a hip. "Which you'll be writing. For him. I dunno, Ally. It looks like you really want this for him." Ally stood up, laughing nervously. "Psssh. What? Trish, that's silly. By the way, do you think my perfect guy would know the right answer to 'If you were a genre of music, which would you be?' " Trish shook her head. "I don't think anyone knows the right answer to that." But Ally pressed pen to paper and jotted it down anyway.

**Meanwhile...**

"Are you seriously going to go to all this trouble?" Dez questioned as he and Austin hurried through the mall on their way to Sonic Boom. It was the day of the auditions and he'd been spreading the word to everyone he knew. Even people he didn't know. Boy, was Ally going to meet a lot of strangers today!

Austin nodded as he dodged a woman with a baby stroller. "Yeah, man. I mean, I don't want to disappoint Carisa, you know?" Dez rolled his eyes. "Um, Austin? Not what I meant. Are you going to go to all this trouble for Ally, I mean. This is really all for her to write just one song."

The blonde shrugged as they reached the music store. "Well, maybe she can write more after we - Whoa." Milling around on the first floor of the store were 25, maybe 30 prospective Ally boyfriends. Austin's eyes widened in surprise as he took in just how many people were willing to date Ally. And, from the way she was excitedly surveying them from the stairs, Ally was probably willing to date them too. And there was nothing wrong with that. In fact, it was the point.

So why did it make him so mad?

"Hi, everybody!" yelled Ally, smiling wide for emphasis. "I'm Ally! Thanks so much for coming out today! Okay, so over there - " Ally pointed right at Austin. "That's your interviewer, Austin! He's going to choose which one of you would make the perfect boyfriend for me! Now, please, make an orderly line to this practice room. You'll go in one at a time and at the end, Austin will announce the winner. Got it?" The boys nodded and Ally skipped down the steps, singing, "Good luck!"

Reaching Austin, she passed him a lined sheet of paper filled with writing. "I wrote down some questions for you to ask them," she explained, then turned to point at a boy nearby with shaggy dark hair, wide green eyes and freckles. "Call him up first, okay? He's really cute."

Austin clamped his mouth shut to keep from saying anything, but honestly, he really wanted all these boys to just disappear. And now he'd have to choose one of them to be Ally's new boyfriend? Why had he even signed up for this in the first place?

Then Ally reached up and ruffled his hair. "Thanks for doing this, Austin," she whispered awkwardly and he swallowed. Oh, yeah. That was why.

**Audition #1**

As it turned out, Shaggy Hair was named Bryan. Austin sat next to Dez at a low-topped table with Bryan in front of them, the question sheet in his hand. "So...Bryan," started Dez in a low voice. "What makes you think you have what it takes to be Ally's Next Top Boyfriend?"

Bryan scratched his neck, confused. "Uh...what?" Austin shot Dez a look and reassured Bryan, "Don't worry about it, dude. Just give me one second..." Scanning the page, he read the question, 'If you were a genre of music, which would you be?' _That's easy, _thought Austin. _Hip-hop. But I'm sure Ally wants me to say rock. _And, sure enough, Rock was written next to the question in Ally's loopy, calligraphy-camp-certified handwriting.

"Hey, Bryan? If you were a genre of music, which would you be?" Bryan smirked, clearly misjudging the question's importance. "Metal. Duh. But what kind of stupid question is that?" Austin frowned. He didn't think it was stupid. He kind of understood why Ally would include a question like that. After all, music was really important to her. And Austin did feel proud that even though he had a different answer than Ally, he at least knew her well enough to know what she wanted him to say. That counted for something.

"Uh, no. Sorry, buddy. We'll, ah, let you know, okay?" Austin said curtly, gesturing towards the door. Bryan seemed surprised to be getting the boot so early, but he headed for the door. Just before he left, he nodded to the duo with a, "You should pick me. The chick was totally checking me out earlier." Austin bristled at hearing him refer to Ally as "the chick" and was relieved to see him finally go.

"Uh...what was that about?" said Dez incredulously. "There's, like, fifty other questions on the page. You don't know anything about him." Austin crossed his arms and pouted. "Yes, I do," he retorted. "His name's Bryan, he likes heavy metal, which Ally can't stand, and he called her " 'the chick.' " Austin used air quotes around 'the chick.' "

Dez cocked his eyebrow, starting to understand. "And that makes him a bad choice to be Ally's boyfriend?" Austin sputtered, "W-well, yeah! I mean, his name starts with a B! Everyone knows that the best couples have names that start with the same letter! His name should start with A, like Ally!"

"Or Austin, huh?" Austin stared at Dez, red blossoming over his cheeks. "I...I didn't mean..." Dez nodded wisely for perhaps the first time in his life. "Yes, you did. And you're going to keep kicking these guys out for made-up reasons that just happen to work for you. Aren't you?"

Austin took a deep breath, smirked and crumpled up the question sheet, tossing it into a wastebasket. "Does that answer your question?"

**An hour later...**

"How do you think it's going?" said Ally excitedly to a bored Trish. "I dunno," she replied halfheartedly. Ally poked her friend in the shoulder gently. "Hey, you okay?"

Trish sighed and nodded. "Yeah. It's just that, well, for one thing, I don't have any jobs lined up so I'm totally broke. And for another, you won't shut up about your boyfriend auditions!" Ally leaned back in her chair. "Yeah, I think I liked you better when you were listening to me, not the other way around."

Just then, Dez and Austin rushed out of the practice room, clutching the railing of the stairs. Ally sat up and pressed her hands together, trying to contain her excitement. Boys had been going in and out of the room for over an hour (albeit rather quickly) and she was psyched to hear the announcement.

"Alright, hey guys!" Austin shouted over the boys' chatter. They looked up at him, a couple of them glaring. Dez shook his head. Probably hard feelings from those he'd kicked out without a word. Apparently, "Ally prefers blondes" was an excuse to discriminate against redheads like himself.

Austin continued, unaware of the hostility directed towards him. "Now's the time I was supposed to tell you who's...ahem...won Ally." He grimaced, hating the way that sounded. As if Ally was a prize. "But I have a little bad news. It seems...nobody won."

Ally's mouth fell open and a substantial number of boys began to boo. Austin waved his hands to quiet them down. "Yeah, looks like none of you could quite meet Ally's standards. Good going there, guys." The heckling increased in volume, not to mention rudeness. "Fix! Fix!" screamed a few. Ally watched, frozen in horror.

"Hey, hey, hey. Never fear. Luckily for Ally, and the rest of the male population that the rest of you so completely disgraced, I decided to answer those questions myself and guess what?" Ally's face dropped into her palms, knowing exactly where this was going. She wondered if she could discover how to melt into the floor or disappear before Austin opened his mouth again. Sadly, she wasn't fast enough. "I do."

The boys burst into frenzied howls. "Totally fixed!" yelled one. One particular ginger cried, "You didn't even ask me any questions!" And Bryan pumped a fist and shrieked, "Let's get 'im!" But before they could surge forward up the stairs, Ally appeared in front of Austin, her palms in front of her like a barrier. "Better idea!" she yelled back. "Get OUT."

A few tried to argue, but it was her family's store and no one wanted the mall police to get involved. Slowly, but surely, the guys shuffled out the front door, muttering about injustice in dating. Ally sighed and leaned against the railing. Austin bashfully stepped over to her, saying softly, "Ally? You okay?"

She nodded and looked up at him, her eyes watery. "Am I really that high maintenance that no one passed?" Austin gulped quietly, discovering a side effect of his little embellishment of the truth. "No, no, no," he assured her quickly. "I mean, I passed, right?"

Ally laughed, her voice wavering. "You were serious about that?" He nodded solemnly. "My offer still stands," he said, trying not to think about how he'd feel if she turned him down. It wouldn't be the same as being rejected, of course. And besides, it was only Ally. Probably he'd feel nothing.

She wiped her eyes and nodded, allowing herself a small smile. "Okay. Let's do it." A grin broke out on Austin's face as he reached towards Ally, enveloping her in a bear hug.

Just because he knew he wouldn't have felt anything if she'd said no didn't mean it didn't feel really, really good when she said yes.

**Whew! Did you guys like it? I hope so, because next chapter, you'll get some of that Auslly goodness you've been craving (and begging me for)! Also, quick thing about the ballad I'm gonna use: I'm pretty sure I know which one, but I'm also open to suggestions. If you can think of one, please put it in your review and I will use my lunch break to listen to them on YouTube. Seriously. No joke. That's my favorite time of the day and I'm willing to use it for you guys. Do you SEE this dedication? :)**

***1: Ooooh, look who slipped in a Looney Tunes reference? Who doesn't love Bugs Bunny? Seriously.**

***2: HA! That is so what she gets after making me spend five dollars on a sub-par disclaimer.**

***3: OMG, a Wayside reference TOO? I am on FI-YUH!**

**Okay, I'll see you guys soon. Probably tomorrow. Don't act like you're not excited about that. :) Review if you think I should be a writer when I get older (which I am actually considering)!**

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	4. It's Official

**Hi, you awesome people! Yeah, I started out with a compliment and yeah, I'm buttering you up. Here's why: I have a test on Monday, a project due on Monday and prep for a project due Tuesday. So, what I'm saying is this chapter could quite possibly be all you get this weekend. I'm really, REALLY sorry about that. Really, these are the fastest updates I've ever made. I've been a writing maniac this week and I was really proud of myself and happy that you guys appreciated it. But I'm afraid I might not be able to keep it up this week. Mind you, I said MIGHT. If it turns out that I can make the time, trust me, you'll be the first to know.**

**Anyway, now that THAT depressing news is behind us, let's talk! I had a FANTASTIC day because A Billion Hits is finally on my iPod! I love that song TO DEATH (or maybe what I really like is the artist...heehee!) If I can't get online Sunday, please, please, PLEASE nobody tell me what happens in Secrets and Songbooks! I mean, if it's in the promos, that's fine. But I live in the Great White North so I won't see it until it's posted on Youtube, so try not to mention that you've seen it and it's amazing or something like that. It's just not nice. **

**xXxDiAmOnDxXx, thank you for your kind words about whether or not I should be an author. I'm actually really psyched about making a career choice (gr. 10 course sheets are due January) and you've have helped me decide on taking extra English classes! This chapter is dedicated to YOU!**

**Disclaimers make the world go round! And stop us from getting our butts dragged to court!**

**Liana: Dez, would you do the honours?**

**Dez: REALLY? You want ME to do it? I always thought that you didn't like me! I thought you liked everybody BUT me! Well, okay! Here goe - **

**Liana: You talk WAY too much. Ally, I'd prefer even you.**

**Ally: W-well...okay. *is infused with the talented spirit of Austin* Liana doesn't own a single thing related to Austin and Ally! She wishes she did, but she don't. She doesn't own any songs either, but she could! If only you could think of some lyrics to go along with that tune in your he - **

**Liana: Know what? You talk too much, too.**

**Geez. Story time with Ally and Dez is not fun. ONWARD! FOR ASLAN! (And Auslly!)**

**Chapter 4 - It's Official**

Early Wednesday morning, Austin stood in front of his mirror, examining his appearance critically. His green and black plaid hoodie, bright yellow tee and baggy dark wash jeans were the fourth outfit he'd tried on and suddenly, he had the urge to change again.

Flicking his hair to the side, he whispered, "Hey, Ally," to his reflection. Then he shook his head and pushed his hair back with his fingers. "Sup, Ally," he tried again, shoving his hands in his pockets and forcing himself to look casual. Sighing, he was gearing up for another try when Dez barged in. "Hey Austin!"

Yelping, Austin jumped away from his mirror. "I wasn't practicing saying hi to Ally!" he squeaked nervously, blushing again. Sometimes he felt like he might be related to a tomato or something. "What are you talking about?"

Dez eyed him oddly for a few seconds before shrugging and heading over to the table in Austin's room. "Hey, don't mind me. I just came to get the whipped cream I left here."

Austin followed him warily, not quite believing he would've let the matter drop so quickly. "Now? At eight in the morning?" Dez nodded and picked up the sky blue canister. "You can't have a breakfast sundae without whipped cream!" he explained.

Quickly, he brought out a bowl heaped with ice cream, sprayed it with the contents of the canister and stared at his masterpiece dreamily. Before Austin could worry about where that ice cream had even come from, Dez dug in. Without a spoon.

"You okay in there, buddy?" Dez lifted his face out of the bowl and nodded, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Only then did he see the many piles of clothes that decorated the floor of Austin's bedroom. "Uh, what happened? It looks like a clothing bomb exploded in here," observed Dez, to which Austin sheepishly replied, "Oh, that. It's nothing. Just trying to find some clothes to wear."

Dez gave a small smile. "Wear to what? Sonic Boom? Hanging with Ally? Your GIRLFRIEND?" Austin could now safely say that his tomato relatives were thoroughly jealous of him now. "No!" he retorted angrily, although it made him feel a little weird to hear Dez call Ally his girlfriend.

The ginger***** crossed his arms and said firmly, "Look, just make sure she gets that song written, okay? Carisa's party is on Saturday, remember? The song's gotta be done by then." Austin nodded, already tired of this conversation, and headed for the door. He'd decided he was a little too anxious to do another costume change.

But not to see Ally. No. 'Course not.

**An hour later...**

Ally drew both her feet up off the floor and hugged her knees to her chest, watching Austin do a drum solo. Before that, he'd played three original guitar riffs and his favorite song of hers, A Billion Hits. And to be totally honest, as talented as he was, Ally was bored. So completely, totally bored. Were all relationships this boring?

To be honest, she wasn't even really sure what to do. Obviously, Austin had some romantic experience and she'd expected him to take charge of this situation. But all he'd done since he'd gotten to the practice room was play and play and hardly even look at her. It was starting to not only bore her, but totally hurt her feelings.

"Austin!" she yelled, standing up suddenly. Austin looked up, his drumsticks paused in midair. "Yeah? What's up?" he said quickly, his eyes flashing from her to the drum set and back to her. Ally's fury intensified. If they were on a date - if that was what was happening - she wanted him to be focused on her and only her.

She eyed him carefully and finally decided on a method of approach: alluring. She smoothed down her dark hair and smiled softly at him. "C'mere." Austin stood up immediately, dropping his drumsticks and carefully edged around the drum set.

Sitting down next to her on the piano stool, Austin tried furiously to slow his heart rate down. There was no reason why he should be feeling so sweaty and nervous and awkward. But he was. And it was driving him crazy. "So..." Ally took a deep breath and started, "So, let's talk."

Austin tried to shrug casually, but all the moves he'd practiced that morning in the mirror were slipping away as he noticed that Ally smelled faintly of cinnamon and how pretty she looked in her short brown dress and pink sweater... "About what?"

Ally sniffed, frustrated. "About the terms of this relationship." She hated how professional and detached she sounded because that was the opposite of what their "relationship" was supposed to be about. But it was only fake. Right? "I think that maybe we should engage in couple-ish activities. That would probably help give me inspiration for a song, y'know?" she said smoothly. That had come out perfectly: firm but soft and help Austin get a better grip on "dating" her.

Little did she know that Austin needed no help in that department. He'd stayed up the previous night planning a day at the beach with her. Unfortunately, every time he'd imagined it, it turned into Carisa's bash and the whole "fake relationship" thing came rushing back. Still, had Ally just pretty much given him permission to treat her like a normal girlfriend? Like this thing between them was real?

Austin turned to look at Ally, who did the same. Their eyes met, chocolate brown on chocolate brown, and his breathing became shallow. And then, maybe for the first time, he realized that he maybe really did like her. And not in a "fake relationship" sort of way.

"Okay, that sounds good to me," he finally replied to her question, trying to keep his voice steady and not get lost in how truly amazing her eyes were. "Uh...so, should I, em, should I call you my g-girlfriend then?" He swallowed hard and looked down.

Ally lifted an eyebrow, wondering why this simple assignment was so hard for Austin to comprehend. Wait...did he just say girlfriend? Ally reached up and tugged a lock of brown hair, studying his face. He looked sort of pained in a way...like he was straining against something...

"Yeah, you probably should," she exhaled. She hadn't even realized she'd been holding her breath. "And I'll call you my boyfriend. And maybe...tonight we can go on a, y'know, a real date." It wasn't a question; more like a statement. Ally knew that wasn't very romantic, but there was a reason she'd never had a boyfriend. "If you want."

Austin couldn't agree fast enough. "Yeah, a date! Totally. That sounds awesome." He nodded and hoped his voice hadn't cracked. Ally firmly pressed her hands together and looked back into his eyes. They really were amazing, with gold flecks that sparkled when he was happy or excited. They kinda reminded her of stars.

"But only if you're going to pay attention to me. Got it? Like, hold my hand or put your arm around me or -" Then, like he was famous for, Austin interrupted Ally by slinging an arm over her shoulder and pulling her closer to his chest. "Like this?" he whispered in her ear, his heart banging against his ribcage. Ally tried to nod, but the fabric of his hoodie was in the way.

Shoving herself away, she nodded curtly, but was sure her fervent blushing was totally giving her away. She was supposed to be in charge of this relationship, right? Austin certainly couldn't be. But if he kept up stuff like that, even when he didn't need to, even when they were in private...would anyone blame her for developing feelings for him?

"By the way..." said Ally, casually leaning towards him, smirking for the first time during their relationship and definitely not the last. "Nice hoodie." And just like that, Austin was scarlet red again.

Just then, the door burst open and the two jumped apart. Trish strode in, decked out in a football helmet, knee and elbow pads and carrying a hockey stick that was twice her size. Dez hopped in just a second after her. Literally hopped into the room. Ally shook her head, half at Dez, half trying to cool down her crimson cheeks. Some things never change.

"Hey guys, guess who's working at Scott's Sport Shack? ... Um, what's going on in here?" said Trish, her tone starting out excited and ending coy. Well, that pretty much eliminated any hope of their blushes dying down. "NOTHING!" Ally and Austin protested simultaneously. The two stood up and Austin hurried awkwardly to the door. "So, um, tonight? 6 o'clock? I'll pick you up," he said after clearing his throat. Ally nodded quickly and with a soft, "Okay," sent Austin on his way.

Trish turned to face her friend, mouth open in a wide smile. "Nothing going on, huh?"

"TRISH!"

**Ahahahaha. Trish. How could anyone ever dislike Trish? Except for all her previous bosses, I suppose. **

**Well, adios since this could be the last I see of you until at least Monday. I shall miss you all terribly (no, seriously.) and I hope you won't be too mad about the possible delay. Oh, and GEEZ, GUYS! I still need suggestions for ballads since I've pretty much vetoed my previous choice. Unfortunately, I'll have to go with that if nobody suggests anything else, okay? Alright.**

***1: In case you were wondering, I've got nothing against gingers. In fact, I love 'em. My last crush was a ginger. Adam Hicks (Wen Gifford) is a ginger. Sometimes I wish I was a ginger...and then I remember that black people have a month dedicated to our history and I wonder what I was thinking. :)**

**Review if you are a supporter of ginger rights! They are not soulless! They are beautiful people with seriosuly vibrant hair! Like Kim Possible! Or Ariel the mermaid! REVIEW AND STAND UP AGAINST HAIR COLOR DISCRIMINATION!**

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	5. A Date to Remember

**Hi, people who actually like me! Well, I finished my P.E. project early (thank the heavens!) and this is what became of it! Probably my longest update ever because...well, I ain't gonna lie to you. There is a TON of drama in this chapter. You're gonna end up feeling bad for some people in the end (and maybe hating someone...)**

**Tomorrow's Secrets and Songbooks! Yippee! I'm super excited, especially after hearing the song from that episode,Not a Love Song. Despite the name, it's really cute. My favorite part is the beginning when Austin sings some lyrics and is then like, "Um...no." Like, I can't believe I just sang that. Ally and Dallas were flirting during the song, though. WHAA?**

**Pottergirl1 is one sweet chica! First off, how lucky are you to be a ginger? Second, that was so nice of you to say that I grasp Disney humor perfectly! I think I'll grow up to work on one of these shows, maybe. This chapter is dedicated to YOU! (And although I've never read the books, I totally respect/love your pen name.)**

***sings* _This is not a disclaimer..._**

**Liana: I guess I'll do it tonight. I, Liana Nina Marcus, do not own any songs I wish I did own or any shows I obsess over like a friendless loser or obsessive maniac. If I did, Austin would've accidentally mentioned that Ally is pretty in the pilot. OMIGOSH! Now that I said that, don't you totally wish that had happened?**

**Yeah. I like to switch it up sometimes. I'll see you cats later! (BTW, I was in a nostalgic mood tonight and was listening to vintage Jesse McCartney while writing this. So if it seems sappier than usual, that's why.)**

**Chapter 5 - A Date to Remember**

Ally's heart thudded in her chest as she fiddled with the hem of the silky lavender dress Trish had picked out for her. As much as she hated to admit, she was really nervous. What if it was horrible? What if she embarrassed herself? What if - gasp - what if Austin stood her up?

Trish patted her arm soothingly, a kind look in her eyes. "Don't worry," she said. "Everything will go great, I promise." Ally let out a shaky breath. "How can you be so sure?"

Trish pointed to a white, pink and red badge that was pinned to her bright pink sweater. "I'm a certified employee of Cupid Relationships. Apparently, my advice on love is solid."***** Ally giggled and tried not to think about that fact that Trish had already been fired from Cupid. Twice.

To take her mind off of how nervous she was, Ally fished her cell phone out of her black cross-body purse. _6:01pm, _the LCD display read. Swallowing around the lump in her throat, Ally shoved the phone back in. "He's already a minute late," she worried. "Where is he?" Trish rolled her eyes and explained, "Ally, get a grip. Sometimes, boys are late. He might not be here for maybe 10 more - "

Of course, at that moment, Austin burst inside the doors of Sonic Boom, his chest heaving with exertion. After Ally got over her extreme relief to see that she had not in fact been stood up, she eyed his outfit. With his black jeans, dark blue button-down shirt, skinny silver tie and dark leather jacket, someone else might've felt that he was overdressed, but Ally was pleased that he'd put as much effort into his outfit as she had into hers. And, well, it did help a bit that he looked gorgeous.

Which she was obviously just noticing as his friend and fake girlfriend.

"Ally!" he called, jogging over to her. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I ran the whole way here." Judging from the way his chest was heaving, she didn't doubt that second one. But was he really upset about a couple minutes late? Or maybe he was upset because he knew she'd worry about him...

"No problem, Austin," she said, waving a hand casually as she walked down the stairs toward him. His eyes raked over her and she'd never felt so self-conscious. But, as his face face broke into a gigantic grin, he apparently liked the way she looked. Which, she wasn't ashamed to admit (well, okay, not that much) made her feel sort of tingly inside.

"Um...you, uh, ready to go?" Austin glanced around the store and then down at his feet. Ally got the feeling that he was avoiding looking at her, which flared up her anger from earlier that afternoon. They were not going through this awkward phase again. Taking charge, she stepped closer to him and took his hand, ignoring the electric shock that shot into hers. "My dad says have me back by 9, in case you were wondering."

Austin, however, was not as quick to brush off the spark. He stared down at their intertwined fingers for a few seconds before he even realized she'd responded to his question. "Oh, um, okay. Let's get going." Ally nodded and waving at Trish and Dez (who had spent the afternoon filming the music store), she led Austin outside.

Once outside their friends' view, however, Ally promptly smacked him in the shoulder with her free hand. "Ouch!" he yelped, snatching his hand away from hers to grab his wound. "Why'd you do that?"

"You can't keep pretending to be all moony and -" Ally realized what she'd said when Austin shot her a look and tried not to giggle as she started again. "I _mean, _you can't pretend to be all dreamy and lovestruck anymore. This relationship has to be at the stage where people start writing songs about each other."

Austin lifted an eyebrow, a thought crossing over his mind. "So, essentially, you'll be writing a song about me?" Ally blushed scarlet and glanced away from Austin's smirking features. "Well, yes. No! I mean, a relationship like ours, I guess. The better the relationship, the better the song," she mumbled, hoping that they were done with this conversation so she could be back in control.

This time, however, he reached over and took Ally's hand. Surprised, she looked him in the eyes again, which was probably not a good move. "I'd better make sure this is a good relationship, then," whispered Austin before he took off running down the corridor, dragging a laughing-in-spite-of-herself Ally behind him.

**Three hours later...**

"Good movie, huh?" Austin said softly as the duo slowly made their way back to Sonic Boom. Due to her dad's strict curfew, he'd only had time to take Ally to the cinema across the mall, but Austin couldn't help but think that it was more than worth it as she rested her head on his shoulder, his arm around her waist.

Ally nodded, or maybe she was shaking her head. He couldn't really tell since she was burying her face into his neck and it was kinda hard to focus. The watermelon shampoo faintly wafting from her hair was overlapping with her cinnamon perfume to create possibly the most delicious scent he'd ever had the pleasure of smelling. _Wait, _Austin thought as Ally removed her head, swinging their arms between them and smiling. _That's not her hair. _He glanced over to see her covertly swiping a lip gloss from her purse on her lips. So, that's where it was coming from.

They were approaching Sonic Boom and now, Austin couldn't stop staring at Ally's full, red lips. Was that weird? He knew he liked her and maybe after a night of pelting each other with popcorn and snuggling in a dark movie theater, Ally had decided she liked him too. They were, for all intents and purposes, dating. So it wasn't weird that he wanted to kiss her. So badly.

"Thanks for the date," Ally said, speaking for the first time during their walk back to the store. "I had a lot of fun." Austin shrugged, but secretly, he was thrilled. "Me too. We should do it again sometime."

Ally snickered. Austin wondered if he was the only one who noticed that she did that more than she laughed normally. Probably not. But maybe he was the only one who realized how endearing it was. "Yeah, maybe tomorrow while we're writing the song would count. Only three more days until Carisa's party." His stomach clenched as he remembered why he was even standing next to her. That stupid party had brought up all these feelings and in three short days, this whole thing with Ally would go away. Well, the relationship, maybe, but definitely not those feelings.

Austin leaned towards Ally slightly. "Yeah, well. We can enjoy it while it lasts at least." Ally swallowed slightly, her eyes following Austin's mouth as he chuckled. It would probably feel amazing pressed against hers.

And be good research for the song! Yes, of course. She sighed inwardly. She was getting tired of acting like every time she touched Austin (or really wanted to), it was all for the song. That stupid ballad was getting in the way of - Wait, was he leaning even closer?

Ally took a sharp intake of breath as Austin's lips neared hers. Obviously, she wasn't in control anymore. And, frightening as it was, she really didn't mind. In fact, it was actually exciting her.

Just before their lips met, he paused, giving her a chance to turn away. Ally took the chance to move forward herself and kissed him.

His knees buckled as he realized that they were kissing and Ally's arm was winding around his neck and he was grabbing her waist and **this was finally happening!** All too soon, though, Ally broke away, needing air. Oh, yeah. Her first kiss. She probably hadn't known she needed to take in air before they kissed.

"Um." Ally burst into laughter hearing how uncharacteristically shy he'd suddenly turned. She pecked him once more on the lips and whispered, "I'll see you tomorrow," before pushing him out the door. After he was gone, she pressed her back against the wall and let out a good, long squeal. She'd kissed Austin. Austin had kissed her. And she could hardly believe how good kissing felt. Without a second to lose, she stumbled up to her practice room in her date heels, ready to work on the song.

Inside, Trish was smacking Dez around, her Cupid Relationships badge already gone. Rolling her eyes, Ally kicked off her heels. "What happened?" Trish looked over at Ally angrily. "The little snot found more of the kangaroo's poop and said it was me again!" Dez retorted, "It's a possibility!"

Ally let out a sigh and stretched out on a couch***** in the room, a wide grin taking up most of her face. Trish walked over, smiling tiredly. "Ooooooh, what happened?" Ally shook her head, refusing to speak. Instead, she grabbed her songbook from her purse (yes, she brought it with her) and began writing down in the diary portion about her amazing night.

Dez casually said, "Lemme guess. Along with first date, first kiss?" Ally's gaze snapped over to the redhead, who was currently leaning against the keyboard, casually gnawing on a cheese stick. Her dark eyes narrowed. "How did you know that?"

Dez looked confused, nervous and finally, scared. "I...um..." he stuttered, giving Ally time to stand up and toss aside her notebook, glaring at him. "Austin told you, didn't he?" She snarled, clenching her hands into fists. Dez shook his head fervently. "No, no, it wasn't him. I promise!"

Ally rubbed at her eyes, which were quickly filling with tears. "He promised he wouldn't tell anyone!" she screamed, Trish coming to the rescue with a sharp "Dez! OUT!" No need to tell him twice. Dez scooted out the door, only pausing to grab his video camera before skedaddling.

"He promised," sniffled Ally in a defeated tone, salty tears streaming down her cheeks. Trish quietly rubbed her best friend's arms, choosing for once in her life to be silent.

**The next day...**

"Ally? Hey Ally, are you here?" Dez had decided not to tell Austin what had happened the previous night. He figured if he arrived there and was totally surprised to hear about the incident, it would make Ally just a little more receptive to the truth. Nevertheless, he'd declined Austin's offer to tag along to Sonic Boom Thursday morning. Trish, adorable as she was, still seriously scared him.

Trish appeared at the top of the stairs, her mouth twisted into a disgusted scowl. "She does not want to see you right now," she snapped at Austin before a quiet voice intervened. "It's okay, Trish. Gotta face him sometime." Out came Ally, looking slightly disheveled and red-eyed, but in all other ways, she was totally stunning.

As she slowly stepped down the stairs, she said coldly, "So, I guess you're here because you want more of my secrets." Austin was honestly confused now. First, Trish said Ally didn't want to see him and now Ally was being weird too? After they'd kissed the previous night, he'd been hoping that now, he could make his feelings known. But, what was up with Ally?

"You can have 'em," she snarled sarcastically as she reached him. "Not like I needed them for anything. Or does Dez know that too?" Austin shook his head. "Wait, what? What does Dez know? Did I do something?" he said quietly.

"You know what you did!" shrieked Ally, face turning red. "You told Dez about me never having a boyfriend! You promised you'd never tell anyone! You promised! And you LIED!" Austin's heart pounded faster than ever.

"I never told anyone, Ally! You've got to believe me!" He stepped forward, his brown eyes wide with pleading. Ally's breath went ragged as she burst into tears again. "And this whole time," she sobbed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve (which, in hindsight, she realized was completely unsanitary). "This whole time, I thought maybe you liked me. And then you kissed me and..." Her voice trailed off.

Austin jumped at the chance to speak. "And I kissed you because I do like you, Ally!" He took another step forward, but this time, Ally stepped back. "No. Please just...go away." Austin's heart was breaking just a little as Trish came forward, her eyes filled with rage, and escorted him out. Outside the front door, the short girl swiftly punched him in the stomach. "You're lucky I didn't aim for the face," she hissed and headed back inside.

Crying silently, he stood up and hobbled home, already trying to plan some way to fix this.

**Aw. My poor babies. Why do I put you in such sad, sorry situations? ... Duh, because it makes good reading material! BWAHAHAHA! I bet you'd forgotten all about Mr. Listening in on Conversations and Videotaping Them, didn't you? Admit it: you didn't see that coming. When I first started writing this, Dez was supposed to make his little slip-up at the beginning and Ally wouldn't even go on the date. But ye asked for fluff, so fluff is what ye shall reap!**

***1: I canNOT be the only one who thinks that Trish would be such a matchmaker. Come on.**

***2: I'm not sure if there's actually a couch in there and quite frankly, I want there to be. So, let's just not look too much into that, okay?**

**Okay, so this was a slight relapse. But since I have research and studying to do tomorrow, I am putting my foot down. NO UPDATES UNTIL MONDAY (at least). **

**Review if you admit that Jesse McCartney is a freaking GOD. Seriously. He's like the original heartthrob. I remember pretty much worshiping him when I was, like, nine. *sigh* _I want you and your beautiful soooooooooul... _Gorgeous in every way. GROW UP TO BE LIKE HIM, ROSS! PLEASE! Review in the name in beautiful blonde boys!**

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	6. Reconciled

**Hehe...heeeeeey, guys... *cue look of sheepish-ness* Okay, you all probs hate me by now (trust, I hate myself), but I really couldn't come up with any good inspiration for this chapter, which is why it took me SO FREAKING LONG to update. SOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR THAT! In reward for your patience, there's a song in this chapter! If you know me, it should be pretty obvious which one. Again, so sorry about the long wait and I can honestly say I will do my best to make sure that NEVER, EVER happens again! **

**Didya see Secrets and Songbooks? Huh? Huh? DIDYA? I did and I squee-ed like the fangirl I am at all the cute'n'funny Auslly moments. The 'just friends' thing is a little worrying, not to mention that we're apparently not getting the episode that Austin is supposedly developing feelings for our favorite hair-chewing songstress for at least 2 WEEKS! What the ding-dong?**

**Katrina, even though you are a nameless reviewer, I'm nice enough to give you a dedication. Well, here it is: I strongly suggest you take your foul-mouthed senselessness elsewhere. Perhaps somewhere where they condone horribly cliched writing and language from the side of a bathroom stall, hmm? (And I'm leaving the review where you swore, in case you care. Because people deserve to see how achingly rude you are.)**

**And now the real dedication: Writteninthestars08 reviewed 5 times (count 'em, FIVE) in one day on separate chapters. Even I have never done that. That, my patient readers, is dedication that reaches the point of obsession. But all the best people are obsessed with something, right? You are a massive sweetheart and I hope you continue to enjoy my stuff. This chapter is dedicated to YOU!**

**Disclaimer, ya'll!**

**Liana: In a weird twist, somebody who does not belong to this show, nor is obsessed with it, shall do the disclaimer today. Ladies and gents, my best friend Arriana!**

**Arriana: You're kidding, right? I don't even watch this show.**

**Liana: Please, please, please, Ari? I've run out of characters! **

**Arriana: *huge, heaving, dramatic sigh* Fine. Lia doesn't own any characters or songs in this fanfic. Nor does she own, well, anything else. Especially a decent pair of heels.**

**Liana: Okay, THANK YOU, Ari! You can go now!**

**That girl talks too much. And she is SO dramatic. But that's why I love 'er! Anyway, let's get back to Austin and Ally's version of Fight Club! (Wow. That was mean.)**

**Chapter 6 - Reconciled**

"Hey Ally, look who's here!" Trish piped up, pointing at the front door of Sonic Boom. Ally didn't bother to lift her head from the counter. "Trish, I feel horrible enough. I don't want to see anyone." A soft voice replied, "Is this a bad time?"

Slowly, Ally lifted her head to meet Carisa's wide periwinkle blue eyes.***** Oh, joy. "Hi, Carisa. I thought it might be Austin." Carisa timidly stepped closer, her small hands clasped together. "Is everything okay between you two? Did you have a fight?" As Ally opened her mouth to respond, Carisa said quickly, "Of course, it's not my place to pry. I mean, I'm here if you want to talk. But don't feel like you have to spill all your - "

Trish reached up and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Take a breath," she advised, smirking. Ally sighed and rubbed at her still red eyes. "Austin told Dez a secret - a secret that he promised he'd never tell anyone." Carisa's mouth dropped open as soon as Trish removed her hand and she reached forward to touch Ally's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Ally. Did he say why? Maybe there was a good reason for it."

Ally shook her head, sniffling.***** "No, he just kept denying it. So was Dez, come to think of it. Must be a guy thing," she croaked, clearing her throat. Carisa looked skeptical, angling a thin red eyebrow. "Hmm. Are you sure? Is it possible that Dez found out another way?" she asked earnestly. Ally's back straightened as she considered it. "Well, I told Austin when we were in the practice room. Somebody could've overheard us..." Trish finished the sentence, "Somebody like Dez!"

Ally slumped into her chair again, this time searching her bag for her cell phone. "I feel awful!" she wailed as she dumped out the contents in her quest for her phone. "I have to call Austin and apologize. And then give Dez a strict tongue lashing for listening at doors." Carisa stifled a snicker. "Did you just say tongue lashing?"

However, before Ally could dial the number, who should come barreling through the front doors of the music store but Mr. Moon himself, backed by a huge crowd and looking surprisingly sheepish. "Hi, Ally," he said quietly, waving awkwardly with one hand. She hurried out from behind the counter, rushing towards him. "Austin, we really need to talk," she started, but Austin refused to listen. "No, wait! Before you yell at me, or send Trish to give me a black eye, just listen to this. I've been working on it for a while and it was supposed to be a surprise*****, but now works just as well," he said all in one breath before grabbing a guitar from a stand and heading for the stairs.

"Austin, stop. You don't get it!" called Ally to no avail. As Austin began to strum the song, she quieted down and listened to the soft melody.

_I don't want another pretty face_

_I don't want just anyone to hold_

_I don't want my love to go to waste_

_I want you and your beautiful soul_

The crowd began to sway with Austin's rhythmic strumming and Ally smiled at how at home he was on any stage. Even when it wasn't a stage, but more of a staircase. Not to mention it was pretty obvious that he was singing a famous love song to none other than herself.

_I know that you are something special_

_To you, I'd be always faithful_

_I want to be what you always needed_

_Then I hope you'll see_

_The heart in me_

_I don't want another pretty face_

_I don't want just anyone to hold_

_I don't want my love to go to waste_

_I want you and your beautiful soul_

_You're the one I want to chase_

_You're the one I want to hold_

_I won't let another moment go to waste_

_I want you and your beautiful soul_

Carisa nudged Ally in the shoulder while clapping her hands, looking absolutely thrilled to be at an impromptu Austin Moon concert. Ally laughed and looked up at him with her biggest smile. He looked back, a look of pure ecstasy crossing his face when he saw that she was happy. Happy with him. Happy because of him. His skin tingled and not because of performing.

_You might need time to think it over_

_But I'm just fine moving forward_

_I'll ease your mind if you give me the chance_

_I will never make you cry_

_C'mon, let's try_

_I don't want another pretty face_

_I don't want just anyone to hold_

_I don't want my love to go waste_

_I want you and your beautiful soul_

_You're the one I want to chase_

_You're the one I want to hold_

_I won't let another minute go to waste_

_I want you and your beautiful soul_

Austin ended the song then amid claps, hoots and general cheering from the crowd. As he stepped down from the stairs, Ally came forward, her eyes glittering with happiness. "That was really sweet, even if it was a total cliche. You even kinda look like Jesse McCartney." He laughed at that, wrapping an arm around Ally's slim shoulders and hugging her close to his side. "So do you forgive me?" he asked suddenly, his brown eyes wide with hope.

Ally snickered and pushed his shoulder half-heartedly. "I already did," she replied smugly. "She was about to call you and apologize when you came in, guitar at the ready, and turned Ally into a sap," giggled Trish, ignoring a pointed look from her best friend. "You should've seen her. She was miserable when she thought that you "betrayed" her, to use Ally's exact words."

"Trish!" squealed an anguished Ally, to which Austin grinned cockily. "So, you really liked the song? I was going to sing it to you at the beach party, but I figured now was a pretty good time." Ally pushed back her brown hair, exposing her flaming cheeks, and nodded. "It was really great...and so nice of you with the whole boyfriend thing."*

Immediately, Austin's face fell. "The fake boyfriend thing?" he said slowly. Carisa looked from one to the other. "Guys, what's going on? What fake boyfriend?" Ally shook her head and smiled at the girl. "It's nothing, Carisa. I promise we'll have that song ready for you on Saturday." The redhead nodded in satisfaction. 'That's just what I wanted to hear!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. "I'll see you all then!" And with that, she disappeared.*****

Ally turned to Austin, who was still wearing that weird half-frown. She wondered why he seemed so pouty right after he'd been so pleased she liked his song. "You okay, Austin?" He immediately looked up and pasted on a bright smile. "Yeah, totally. Um, I'll just come by tomorrow to work on the song, okay?" He answered, backing away from Ally to follow the crowd that was filing out the front doors. She nodded and waved, watching him leave. He looked disappointed and Ally had a sinking feeling that it was all her fault.

**Yes. It was short. I'm aware of that, so no yelling. I promise it will be longer next time. Probably will also contain a song, just saying. BTW, this fic is winding down. It's only a couple days in story time (heh, see what I did there?) until Carisa's party and after that, well, what else is there? This party will be massive, to let you know. And don't worry: Dez has got his reasons for being MIA... **

***1 - Oh! Admit it: you forgot about her!**

***2 - So, you might be thinking, "Why the heck is Ally being so dramatic and crybaby-ish?" Well, it's not the actual secret being spilled that she's concerned about. It's that now, she thinks that she can't trust him, not to mention that he's lying to her. Which, of course, we know is less than true. But people on this show seem to love jumping to conclusions (see Secrets and Songbooks to see what I'm referring to.)**

***3 - You bet your gorgeous golden hair it was supposed to be a surprise! Originally, Austin was gonna sing Beautiful Soul to Ally at the beach bash, but as I explained already, I had less than no ideas for this chapter and I decided to go with that. Oh, Austin. And it turns out it wasn't necessary anyway.**

***4 - MUAHAHAHAHA! Ohhhh, no. You didn't think they were gonna get together that easy, did you? *evil smirk***

***5 - Okay, am I the only one who really likes Carisa? She's so fun and energetic and could possibly be an Auslly shipper. She's also intensely annoying if you were to spend too much time with her and she has a penchant for obsession. So basically, she's me with red hair. Hee-hee!**

**Alright, see you soon guys! (And I mean that, so no mean reviews that basically say, "Update, you b-word." Because, in the immortal words of Austin, "That's just wrong.") REVIEW IN THE NAME OF BASING CHARACTERS OFF OF PEOPLE YOU KNOW! (Because you do it a lot more than you want to admit.)**


	7. Songwriting

**Er...hi, guys. I hope you haven't been sharpening your pitchforks although you certainly have good reason to. Actually, this time it was being banned from FF...by my MOM. She demanded I wait until Christmas vacay to come back. Yeah, I know! Unreasonable much? But I made it and I'm finally freaking back! Didya miss me? Course ya did.**

**How's Christmas going so far? Merry Christmas Eve! The 'rents are getting me and my brothers our presents on Boxing Day (low, low prices and all that) and I am ever-hoping for an iPod Touch. Wish me lots'o'Christmas luck!**

**Speaking of Christmas presents, has anyone seen the new A & A episode, Zaliens and Cloud Watchers? It's apparently on iTunes, but again, I'm up in the Great White North and can't buy it. Could someone please, please, PLEASE buy it and upload it on YouTube for your fellow A & A-ers? Pretty please, with mistletoe on top?**

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><p><strong>Yo, Veve2491! I UPDATED. You happy now, hun? You can stop repeating yourself now! *chuckles* This chapter is dedicated to YOU! (And the way your review made me literally laugh out loud!)<strong>

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><p><strong>Time to diclaim! Yeah, buddy!<strong>

**Liana: Tonight's disclaimer is brought to you by...yep, you guessed it: Santy Claus himself!**

**Santa: Uh...Liana? You know I'm very busy tonight, don't you?**

**Liana: Abso-positi-lutely, Santa! But, since you're not bringing me anything tonight (that role has been delegated to my parents), I thought maybe you could make it up to me by starring in the sixth episode of Who's Gonna Disclaim? **

**Santa: Are you trying to end up on the Naughty List?**

**Liana: Like you'd ever do that. Now, andele, St. Nick! Or there're gonna be a lot of disappointed kids on the other side of the world tomorrow morning.**

**Santa: Sheesh, fine. Liana doesn't own Austin, Ally, Trish, Dez, any songs she might claim to or whatever scheme Dez has in the works. She doesn't own Trish's pathetic work ethic or Austin's singing voice. Just about the only thing she does own is Carisa Jenkin, the peppy redhead. And she doesn't own CHRISTMAS! No one can own Christmas because I CAN'T LET THEM!**

**Liana: Oh, go find your sleigh already.**

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><p><strong>Sigh. You know that Christmas movie where Whoopi Goldberg becomes Santa? (I can't be bothered to look up the name.) That's where the owning Christmas quote comes from. I watched it a couple years ago. Whoopi's funny, huh? With a name like Whoopi, how can you not be funny? Anyway, off we go to the wonderfully Green Christmases of Miami!<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 7 - Songwriting<strong>

Ally pushed her orange newsboy cap up on her brow and snuck another peek at Sonic Boom's front door. Nope. Still no Austin. She slumped down in her seat and sighed. It had to be the first time in maybe three months that Austin hadn't shown up when they were scheduled to write a song. Carisa's party was the next day and they really needed to jump on this thing.

"Don't worry, Ally." She turned towards the back of the store and Dez's cheery voice. He stood before her, smiling and clutching an enormous tuba to his chest. "He'll be here," he assured her. "Austin never passes up a chance to perform."

Ally smiled back weakly, momentarily soothed. Then, her face darkened as a thought crossed her mind. "Dez...there wouldn't happen to be another sandwich in that tuba, would there?" she tapped her foot and stared expectantly at him. Dez shuffled backwards quickly and gulped. "Uh...maybe..." Before Ally could respond, he scurried upstairs, still holding the instrument. "Wait! I still need to talk to you!"

"Hey, hey!" shouted Trish as she strode in, a massive sombrero strapped under her chin and a multicolored poncho (that looked suspiciously like an old quilt) draped over her shoulders. "Guess who got a job at - " Ally tapped her chin with her finger in a mock-thoughtful pose. "Wait, wait. Let me guess..." she said slowly.

"Tex Mex Ranch House!" they ended together. Ally chuckled and shook her head as Trish walked around in a circle, modeling her hideous uniform. "Trust me, Ally. I'm totally cut out for being a waitress!" Ally patted her friend's shoulder comfortingly. "Trish, I'm willing to bet that you'll be fired after your first customer."

Trish giggled and brushed Ally's hand off. "C'mon, be realistic. I'll probably be fired before that."

Ally laughed appreciatively at her friend's (albeit probably true) joke, but Trish wasn't blind under that sombrero. "Hey, you okay?" she asked, taking a look around. "Yikes. Did somebody die in here or something? It's more deserted than any room Dez enters," she joked, referring the emptiness of the music store. The songwriter shrugged. "I closed the store so Austin and I could work on our song." Trish nodded in understanding. "Speaking of, where IS Austin?" Ally opened her mouth to reply when a weary voice called, "Over here."

She jumped up and ran over to where Austin was leaning against the glass windows, but before she could hug him, he took a step away from her. Ally swallowed and shook off that nagging feeling that she'd done something wrong.

"Hi Austin!" piped up ever-perky Trish, who had completely forgotten that only two days prior she'd delivered a brutal punch to his stomach. "Where ya been? I was calling you non-stop last night! We need to start advertising your appearance at Carisa's party tomorrow!" Trish moved her arms as she spoke, fluttering the sleeves of her poncho.

Austin ignored the first part of her statement, choosing instead to respond, "Isn't that kinda like inviting people to her party without telling her?" He tried to avoid looking at Ally or, more specifically, her wide coffee brown eyes that were staring at him with a mix of sadness and confusion. _That must've been how I looked when she thought I told Dez her secret, _thought Austin and he felt horrible for making her feel that badly. But, he worried that if he looked her in the eyes, he'd start spilling his guts about his ever-growing crush on her and he already knew she didn't feel the same way. after all, he'd sung her a freaking love song and she'd assumed he was acting! Obviously, she didn't seem him as anything but "the friend."

Trish waved her hand dismissively. "Who cares? It's not like she owns the beach, right?" Ally was pretty sure this was a bad idea, but Trish with an idea could not be stopped. Momentarily forgetting the frigid silence between her and Austin, she grabbed his hand and tried to pull him towards the practice room. "Well, c'mon Austin. You can't perform without that ballad!"

Unfortunately, not only did he refuse to speak, he refused to move. No matter how hard Ally yanked or how much she pouted (he was at the point now where he could admit that she looked adorable when she pouted), Austin stood firm, as if he was frozen to the floor.

"Austin!" cried Ally, frustrated beyond belief. It wasn't just that he was so obviously giving her the silent treatment (she didn't even want to think about how they were going to write a song without speaking). It was that Carisa was going to have to pay because he was being so stupidly stubborn. And, well, yeah, it was hurting her feelings that he wouldn't speak to her.

Trish twitched a little, holding in her laughter. "Hey, Ally? Let go a second." Reluctantly, she did as she was told. Trish screamed a war cry and shoved Austin towards the stairs with her shoulder. Being unprepared for the sudden movement, he lurched forward and before he could get his footing back, Ally took the opportunity to drag him up. 'Thanks!" she called down to Trish, who saluted back. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be at work?" Trish shook her head, leaning against the counter. "Nah, Tex Mex Ranch House doesn't open until 8."

Ally rolled her eyes and gripped Austin's arm tighter to prevent him from falling back down the stairs. Sometimes, Trish could be so clueless. "Trish? Pretty sure that means 8 a.m., not p.m." Her smiling BFF frowned. "Oh. Um...I'll see you later." And with that, she ran out the door.

The remaining brunette paused a moment to thank her lucky stars she'd remembered to close the store and gave Austin one final push into the practice room. Inside, Dez was lying on the couch, making the world's loudest kissing noises. The duo recoiled. "Dez?"

He looked up from the stuffed monkey he'd been macking on, not embarrassed in the least. "I'm comfortable with who I am," he said simply, standing up and wedging the stuffie underneath his arm. "Anyway, if you guys need the room, I'll just - "

"Actually, dude," interjected Austin, crossing his arms. "I still need to talk to you about something." He glared at his best friend and suddenly, Ally's brain clicked with the realization of what he was talking about. The whole reason they'd even been fighting (and possibly why they were fighting now).

"Yeah, Dez. How did you know that I'd never been on a date before Austin?" The blonde looked over at her as she mentioned his name, only to see Ally looking him dead in the eyes, her face stern. Austin swallowed a quick gulp and tried to wipe his mind of the immediate thoughts he'd had, which were all along the lines of "I"m not mad at you, I promise! I just like you enough to not pressure you into liking me!"

Dez smiled stiffly and edged towards the door. "I, I can't tell you guys. But trust me, I have a good reason. You'll really like it. I promise." And with a quick parting wave from his stuffed monkey, the redhead dashed off. Ally shook her head, wondering what Dez could possibly be up to. Then again, did she really want to know?

"So, Austin. About that song." She faced her friend, watching him stare out the window, at his sneakers, the keys of the piano he'd bought her: anywhere but her face. Feeling that familiar anger at being ignored wash over her again, she stomped over and grabbed Austin's face between her hands, forcing him to look into her eyes.

Dark brown met dark brown as Austin stared deeply into Ally's eyes, noticing the subtle flecks of gold in her irises. Shivering, Ally turned away, sitting primly on the piano stool. Her heart was running a marathon in her chest, but she wasn't about to let him know that. "Please, Austin. Talk to me." He sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair. "It's, um, no big deal, Ally. I was just being stupid."

Ally smiled wide, relieved that he was finally, finally speaking to her again. It had been too long since he'd said her name last. Okay, true, it had only been a day, but still. She'd never noticed before how nice it sounded when he said it. "Well, as long as you're not mad at me. Now. back to the ballad. I've had several ideas about it, but I keep coming back to this same one about looking someone in the eyes." Ally grabbed her songbook and flipped through it to find the specific page.

Austin craned his neck to try and look at the page she was referring to, but she quickly moved to the other end of the bench. "No, no, no. No blonde boys who give me the silent treatment allowed," she teased, enjoying the red blush spreading over his cheeks and neck.

He chuckled and shrugged. "Okay, any music yet or just lyrics?" Ally sighed and turned over a few more pages. "Just lyrics, but we can do the music right now." Austin cracked his knuckles, Ally ordered a pizza and the duo sat down. This was going to be an all-nighter, the type they hadn't pulled since writing Break Down the Walls.

**12 hours later...**

Austin tossed a crumpled piece of sheet music at the trash can across the room and, as usual, missed by a mile. Giggling, Ally scooted over to him, pretending that she wasn't pressing her thigh against his on purpose. It felt kinda...nice. And even through his dark jeans, she could feel the warmth emanating from him.

"No, like this." She snatched up another sheet, crumpled it and lobbed it towards the trash can. Amazingly, the paper ball sailed through the air and landed neatly in the can. A gaping Austin turned towards Ally, tugging down her cap over her eyes playfully. "Nice one, Ally!"

She smiled and pulled the hat back up when something stopped her. Austin was, once again, looking directly into her eyes. It was late, maybe 3 a.m. and all her teenage hormone-addled, sleep-deprived brain could comprehend was the fact that his lips were so achingly close to hers. All she had to do was lean up and they'd be kissing. It seemed like a good idea.

"Ally?" Austin felt like he might be taking advantage of her tiredness, but she was more likely to tell the truth in this state. "After this whole - I mean, are we still, uh, dating? Will we still be dating after this is all over?" He closed his eyes, awaiting the answer he already knew, but still needed to hear.

To his surprise, the next thing he felt was Ally's soft velvety fingers running over his cheek. He opened his eyes to find her smiling sleepily up at him. "I'd like that," she said slowly before pressing her mouth to his as hard as she could. (Because it seemed like a good idea.)

Austin's mind went fuzzy and he wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but he could've sworn they were sitting on the piano with Ally practically climbing into his lap.

"Ally..." he groaned, pulling away from her as slowly as he could, to prolong the sparks that were igniting on his lips. "You're tired. And probably delusional." She pouted and he almost groaned again. How could she do that? Make him pretty much melt by pushing her lips together in a way that should've been unattractive? "You don't want to kiss me?" she whimpered, doing her best to rub the sleep out of her eyes and failing miserably.

"No!" he tried to whisper and shout at the same time, wrapping his arms around her torso and tugging the brunette towards him. "Ally, that's not it at all. I just...I don't think this is really what you want. I think you're too tired to know what you're doing." Ally shook her head in protest as her eyelids began to droop. "No...I...I'm..." she started, but before she could finish her sentence, the songwriter fell asleep, head dropping onto Austin's chest, her arms locked snugly around him.

He sighed, knowing that he should probably drag her over to the beds they'd set up in case they ever needed to work late again, but that would mean waking Ally up. And besides, she was snoring so cutely and she felt so nice in his arms. _Really_, he thought to himself, _what's five more minutes in the grand scheme of things?_

Well, it's actually nothing at all. Except when those five minutes stretch into four hours and a perky Latino drops in on you with a camera and a sly smile. "Say cheese!"

"TRISH!"

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><p><strong>Man. I'm low on inspiration here. It's because I haven't watched a new episode in days. Gosh, I'm dying over here. Keep them reviews coming because those are the only things keeping me coming these days. When we reach 200, I'll...oh, I dunno. I'll tell you some more about me, I guess. Or fulfill the request of the 200th reviewer! There we go. I'll <strong>**fulfill any request (besides something crazy, like becoming an assassin) of the 200th reviewer. Can we do it? Course we can! (Who else thinks it's totally obvious that Handy Manny is a Latino version of Bob the Builder with smaller tools? I wonder if Bob was compensating for something...Okay, ew!)**

**I'll see you later, okay? Um...ya'll need a name. How's the ER: Readers Extraordinary? Because that's what you are AND that's where you'll put me if I take so long to update again. Haha. No, seriously. Go easy on me, ER. **

**REVIEW IN THE NAME OF INSPIRATIONAL BLACK WOMEN OF HISTORY! (Queen Latifah, Whoopi, Oprah, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman...My word, the list goes on and on and on and on and on... If you couldn't tell, I'm a bit of an amateur activist. :) Merry Christmas and I'll see you soon!)**

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	8. The Bonfire

**Hello, ER! Happy New Year's Eve! You might be wondering why the heck this chapter took so long. Well, when you see how long this is, you will NOT be wondering any longer. I've got the world's biggest headache and I've been sitting at this computer, just typing for an hour and a half (I write it out long-hand first.), but it was SO FRIGGING WORTH IT. This is the last chapter of Ballads and Bonfires and I just want to say that it was an honor to write for you, ER. You are complete sweethearts and you made me so happy every time I read a new review. So thanks for being your amazing, fantastic, gravity-defying selves! (Okay, maybe not that last one.)**

**Tonight's dedication? Why, it's all of you! And yeah, that might seem cheesy, but it's true. This story would still exist if it wasn't for you, keeping me interested in writing it. It's been a journey, but I can honestly say that this is the fastest fanfiction I've ever written, especially with it being 8 chapters long. I love you guys and I can't wait to start a new project for you!**

**Happy New Disclaimer! Yeah, I don't own anything. Especially not any songs used in this chapter. Which reminds me! Winner of the ballad contest: (drumroll, please) ! I know, I know. She's an anonymous reviewer, but I'd never heard the song she suggested before and when I heard it, I instantly knew it was perfect. For the record, I listened to every song that was offered and gave it a fair chance. Anyway, time for me to stop yapping. I love you guys and I hope you like the chapter!**

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><p><strong> Chapter 8 - The Bonfire<strong>

On a usual day, it took Austin Moon 12 minutes to get dressed, Dez Worthy 9 minutes, Ally Dawson an hour and Trish Rodriguez 2 and a half hours. But this was definitely not a usual day. Firstly, Ally woke up lying on Austin's chest and she couldn't, for the life of her, remember how she ended up that way. Vaguely, she thought they'd been kissing, but before she could ask him about it, Austin had headed home to get ready for his big performance that evening. Ally had proceeded to drag Trish to her bedroom and spent the next 4 hours deciding what to wear.

"You're not seriously considering that, are you?" Trish shook her head in disbelief as Ally inspected her outfit in the mirror: a red tank top with a white floral pattern, a white lace cardigan, a thin brown belt and a brown knee-length skirt. "What's wrong with this one, Trish?" she sighed, sitting down on her bed. "You've vetoed every outfit I've tried on. I don't get it. They're just like my normal clothes."

Trish patted her friend's leg encouragingly and tried not to think about how utterly hopeless she was at fashion - not to mention romance. "That's exactly it, Ally. This has to be an outfit he'll never expect," she explained, thumbing through her best friend's closet to no avail. The girl simply didn't have anything that would work on such an occasion. Ally shrugged and leaned back on her bed. "He who?"

The Latino turned and picked up her purse, searching through the massive bag without looking at Ally. "Oh, c'mon. You know who. A certain blonde boy with a knack for music and making you blush?" she said knowingly, waggling her eyebrows at Ally. The pale brunette sat up immediately, trying to fan her flaming cheeks inconspicuously. "What?" she protested in that high-pitched voice she got when she was lying. **(1)** "Austin? Why would you think I want to impress Austin? What, do you think I have a thing for him or something? Ah, ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Trish rolled her eyes and pulled a white shopping bag out of her tote. "Yeah, whatever Ally. Here."

Ally inspected the bag's label. "Urban Threads? Weren't you working there earlier this week?" Trish nodded. "Yeah," she answered. "I bought that for you while I still had my employee discount." Ally's dark brown eyes widened. "B-but, Trish!" she sputtered. "You were working there for all of 3 hours! When did you have the time?"

The manager fluffed up her tight corkscrew curls, arranging them over her shoulders. "Losing jobs isn't the only thing I can do really fast. I'm a certified Speed Shopper, y'know." Conveniently, she produced a gold ribbon with 'Speed Shopper' written on it in swirly purple script from her purse. Ally shrugged and opened the bag, peering inside. "Oh...Trish... it's completely..." Trish smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "I know, I know. There's no need to thank me."

Ally grinned up at her friend just as a thought crossed her mind. "Hey, Trish? Aren't you starting your job at Anything Fried today?" Trish waved a hand, as if she was brushing the statement away with less than no concern. "Nah, I quit. Tonight is way too important to waste time worrying about a _job_." Ally cocked an eyebrow, but decided not to comment on it. After all, this was Trish. She'd have a new job by Sunday morning.

"Well, maybe we ought to head over to Sonic Boom." Trish scoffed in reply, "Uh, why?" Ally thought about it a moment, stumped. "Um...I don't actually know," she replied, her voice tinged with confusion. "It just seems that we always hang out there." Trish stood up, slipping her ginormous purse back onto her shoulder. "Well, good enough for me!"

**At the same time...**

"So...Austin..." Dez spaced out his words in the exact way he knew would tick Trish off. Honestly, that girl was just so mean. Probably she was always stressed about Austin's career and holding down a job (not).

"Dez? What are you thinking about?" asked the blonde, holding a black leather jacket up to his body in the mirror. _Nah, _he thought. _She's seen that too many times. _Dez shrugged, sheepishly looking to the side. It would not do for Austin to know he'd been thinking about Trish. "Nothing much. Hey, are you ever going to decide on something? You're turning into a girl."

Ignoring his best friend's accusation, Austin hung the leather jacket back up in the closet and instead took down a royal blue polo with a white collar. "How's this?" Dez snorted and gestured to his own outfit: a banana-yellow pair of shorts paired with a bright purple waffle shirt and lime green bubble vest. "You're really asking me?"

Austin chuckled back. "Good point." He yanked a pair of stone-washed blue jeans with a chain hanging from the pocket from his dresser and decided that would have to do. "Dude, you know Ally's going to love you, no matter what you're wearing," Dez observed shrewdly, to which Austin sighed deeply.

"Look, man. I know there was that whole thing with the guys that I was interviewing to be Ally's boyfriend, but I was...I was just being protective. Y'know, a big brother type thing." Dez rolled his eyes and, in a surprisingly sarcastic tone, replied, "Yeah, sure. I believe it."

The singer pulled his hands through his short blonde hair. "So, anyway. I don't have any feelings like that for Ally. Even if she does have glossy brown hair that smells like cinnamon and really soft lips that she always uses watermelon lip gloss on, although I'll never know why. And that cute little habit of chewing on her hair and of course, her amazing talents. I mean, I will never be able to write songs as well as she can. And it does help that she's completely gorg - "(**2)**

At this point, Austin finally noticed Dez pointing that camcorder right at him, filming every word he'd said. "Hey, Dez! Turn that thing off!" shrieked Austin, lunging towards the camera to do it himself. Before he could touch it, though, Dez shut it off and quickly hid it away in his backpack. "Gonna have to add some new footage..." he mumbled to himself quietly. Unfortunately, Austin caught it. "What was that?"

Dez cleared his throat and stood up, looking around the room awkwardly. "Nothing, nothing. Anyway, why are we still here? Shouldn't we be headed to Sonic Boom by now?" The redhead checked the non-existent watch on his wrist. "Yup, we're late. Better get a move on!" With that, he hurried out, slamming the door behind him before Austin could even get a word in.

**A half hour later...**

"So, how are things going with you? ... I'm good, thanks for asking. ... Well, actually, I - I'm freaking out! Austin's performing tonight and I just know the stage is going to collapse or someone in the band will get sick - and I mean, for real this time - or something else will go wrong! I'm sorry that I'm dumping all this on you, but I'm really stressed out! More than usual! This is a big deal. A lot of people are coming to see him tonight and - "

"Ally!" snapped Trish. Ally turned towards her best friend, a clump of hair caught between her teeth. "Yeah?" she mumbled around the follicles in her mouth. Sighing, Trish grabbed her best friend's hand, rubbing it soothingly. "Leave Miss Pennyworth**(3)** alone," she advised, trying to pull her away from the wall she'd been animatedly talking to. "But, she calms me down!" protested Ally, spitting the hair out.

Just then, Dez and Austin strode in, catching her last words. "You? Calm?" chortled Dez, but his voice cut off when he saw Trish. "Ahem. I'll, uh, be over here." He quickly stepped behind Austin, peering over his friend's shoulder at the tiny girl.

"Anyway, Austin. The party starts at 5, so I suggest we get there around 4:30 and make sure the band is prepped on all the songs," Trish began promptly, beginning to tick off tasks on her fingers. "Ally and I emailed the sheet music to them this morning and Carisa called to say she had a stage built for you guys. So it's not like you're just going to be performing on the sand. There will be a bonfire, but don't worry. It won't be close enough to the stage to put you in any real danger. Is there anything else?" Ally's jaw dropped. Nobody would've believed it, especially based on Trish's previous job history, but when it came to Austin's career, she was actually really efficient.

Austin grinned wide, rubbing his hands together. "No, looks like you've taken care of everything, Trish," he replied, looking as if he couldn't quite believe it. "Hey, we've got some time to kill. You guys wanna go get a pizza?" Ally mentally thanked Trish that she'd convinced the songwriter not to wear her dress for tonight while meeting up with the guys. She was right: it would be like wearing your prom dress around town while get your hair and nails done.

"Yeah, sounds good," said Dez, eagerly bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Mushrooms?" Trish glared up at the redhead. "Oh, I don't think so. We're getting pepperoni," she told him firmly. Dez made a grand show of pretending to puke. "Nobody asked you," he sneered. "You're short AND invisible!" The sounds of their argument could be heard throughout the mall as they walked out.

Ally giggled and turned to Austin. "Shall we?" he asked, hoping his voice wasn't trembling. Smiling demurely, she took his elbow, her face heating up almost immediately on contact. "We shall," she answered and they did.

**5 hours later... (4)**

Ally didn't think she'd ever wanted Miss Pennyworth so badly as she walked towards the stage, the heels of her ankle boots sinking into the soft sand. Austin was about to do his first performance for a fan. For a bunch of fans. As people began milling around the stage, she again reflected on what a bad idea of Trish's it was to invite even more people to Carisa's already pretty big party.

The ginger in question hurried over to Ally, decked out in a shimmery turquoise party dress and sparkly silver flats. "Um, Ally? Do you know where all these people came from?" Carisa asked, visibly trying not to nibble on her thumbnail. Ally pasted on a small smile. "Er...no."

Luckily, Trish happened to show up just then. "Hey, girls! Guess who got a job at - Oh, no. Ally, you are not wearing those boots." Ally glanced down at her brown leather ankle boots with the suede lining. "What's wrong with these?" she asked defensively. Trish rubbed her eyes, as if she was tired of bossing people around. Yeah, right.

"I told you, Austin sees you in this stuff all the time! You should've worn those heels I bought you at Urban Threads." Carisa smiled wide, absentmindedly fiddling with her glasses. "Oh, I don't think you guys need to worry about that. Your boyfriend loves you for you, Ally, not what you wear!"

Ally's gaze shot over to Carisa while Trish clamped her hands over her mouth in a vain attempt to muffle her laughter. "Boyfriend?" echoed Ally, looking scandalized. Carisa's face fell. "Um...did I say boyfriend? ... Look, I'm sorry. I know you guys are trying to keep in a secret. I promise, I won't tell anyone." With a conspiratorial wink, Carisa skipped off to yell at the caterers.

"Boyfriend?" Ally repeated, her eyes wide. "Who's your boyfriend?" piped up Dez, who trotted up to the girls, Austin in tow. "Ewww," screeched Trish, shoving the tall freckled boy away. "Mushroom breath!"

Austin barely registered his manager's disgust, too caught up in the off-white pleated halterdress Ally was wearing. Her skin twinkled shades of gold in the dimming light and her brown curls were swept into a messy bun on top of her head. In short, she looked like a certifiable goddess.

"Hello? Austin? Earth to Moon?**(5)"** The blonde blinked suddenly and looked down at the petite brunette who was dragging him towards the stage by the front of his shirt. "Okay, the party's going to start soon, so I suggest you guys run some sound checks," Ally explained, nodding hello to his band. "Can you handle that?" She pretended not to notice that he was staring at her. Even if it was making her insides feel gooey.

Austin nodded immediately, swallowing and averting his thoughts to things beside Ally. _Acoustic guitars...amplifiers...microphones...pianos...the piano in the practice room...the way Ally looks so passionate when she's playing it... Argh! _He headed up onto the stage and picked up the microphone, tapping it. "Hey, this thing on?" he spoke directly into the mike, his voice booming out of the speakers on either side of the stage. He smiled wide at the band. "Guess that answers that question."

Ally sat down on the edge of the stage, scribbling some last-minute lyrics in her book when she happened to glance up and see Dez talking animatedly to Carisa. He waved his hands a bit, held up his camera and pointed to the stage, to which Carisa nodded. Ally's brows furrowed. She knew Dez was up to something, but now she was really curious. Why would he need Carisa's involvement?

"Hey everybody! How are you doing tonight?" Austin yelled into the microphone, the partygoers responding with enthusiastic cheers. Ally slipped off the stage and hurried to stand next to Trish, a handful of hair inching its way towards her mouth. Trish slapped her friend's hand. "No, Ally. No hair-chewing," she scolded. Reluctantly, Ally dropped the clump of hair.

Austin wiped his slightly sweaty palms on his jeans and continued, "So we're going to start off with a new song. It's called When You Look Me in the Eyes **(6)** and it's written by an amazing songwriter and one of my best friends, Ally Dawson." The girl in question blushed deeply as everyone in the crowd looked for her. Luckily, Austin began singing, taking the attention of of her.

_If the heart is always searching, can you ever find a home?_

_I've been looking for that someone_

_I'll never make it on my own_

_Dreams can't take the place of loving you_

_There's gotta be a million reasons why it's true_

Austin looked amazing up there on stage, swaying with the music from the acoustic guitar and getting the rest of the crowd involved. He looked so comfortable up there, Ally noted. She could only hope that one day she'd have the confidence that he had to get up on stage and perform. She also couldn't help but notice that not only had Austin found her in the crowd, he was staring directly at her throughout the song.

_When you look me in the eyes_

_And tell me that you love me_

_Everything's alright_

_When you're right here by my side_

_When you look me in the eyes_

_I catch a glimpse of heaven_

_I find my paradise_

_When you look me in the eyes _**(7)**

The blonde bowed, enveloping himself in the crowd's wild applause. "Thank you so much, guys," he smiled, waving to his fans. He caught Ally's eye and quickly winked at her, half hoping she hadn't seen and half hoping she had. "Before I keep going with the concert, I just wanted to do another ballad."

Ally's ears perked up at this and she studied the boy's face. _Another ballad? _she thought to herself. _But I didn't write him another ballad...unless... _Eyes blinking rapidly, she could only watch as Austin quickly mumbled a dedication to herself and launched into I Love You. A song she'd written in her songbook, but decided not to show to him.

_I like your smile_

_I like your vibe_

_I like you style_

_But that's not why I love you_

_And I, I like the way you're such a star_

_But that's not why I love you_

Austin looked down at Ally, her eyes brimming with tears. To be totally honest, he wasn't sure if they were tears of sadness, anger or joy. He never could tell with Ally. That was part of her charm, part of the reason he loved her.

_Hey, do you feel?  
>Do you feel me?<br>Do you feel what I feel too?  
>Do you need?<br>Do you need me?  
>Do you need me-e-e?<em>

Ally couldn't speak. She couldn't move, she couldn't blink, she was surprised she could even breathe. Austin Moon, THE Austin Moon, was standing in front of her, pouring his heart out in a love song directed at her, a song she'd written herself, no less. This was different than Beautiful Soul. Back then, she'd assumed he was only trying to be a good fake boyfriend. But, if he'd felt this way about her when he sang that song, well, she could understand him being frustrated with her afterward. She sighed, lifting one hand to her chest and using the other to wipe the tears off of her face. If this was a dream, she didn't ever want to wake up.

_You're so beautiful  
>But that's not why I love you<br>I'm not sure you know  
>That the reason I love you is you<br>Being you  
>Just you<br>Yeah, the reason I love you is all that we've been through  
>And that's why I love you <em>**(7)**

Austin finished the song, his heart thundering underneath his polo. He wanted nothing more than to go down to Ally on the sand, sweep her up into a bear hug and officially, properly ask her to be his girlfriend. Unfortunately, because of Trish's "advertising," there were more than 200 people there to see him and even more appearing all the time.

However, before he could even open his mouth to announce the next song, A Billion Hits, Dez of all people jumped onstage, camera-less for once. "Now!" he screamed, pointing at Carisa. The shorter of the redheads picked up a small remote and quickly hit a green button.

Suddenly, behind the band, a large projector screen began to drop down from the high arch of the stage. The party paused indefinitely as everyone stare up at the screen, wondering aloud what would happen next. Ally stared at Dez, who was bouncing on his clown shoe-clad toes, clapping his hands with giddy excitement. Even Trish, who prided herself on knowing everything about anything, didn't know what was going on.

As soon as the screen was fully extended, Carisa too stepped onto the stage, passing Dez his camera, a black cord trailing out behind it. "And now..." began Dez, sweeping out a hand in front of him dramatically. Trish rolled her eyes. Whatever Dez was doing, he was going to pay for it later, the Trish way.

"For your viewing pleasure..." Austin wondered to himself why Dez felt the need to hijack his gig to showcase one of his videos. Ally followed Carisa's lead and nibbled a nail as Dez continued, "A Dez Worthy production, entitled, _Austin and Ally, Will You Please Get Together Already?_"

Austin coughed violently on the swig of water he'd been drinking. Ally's eyes widened to limits once only reached by cartoon characters as she viciously dug her nails into Trish's arm. Trish wanted to applaud Dez's fantastic idea, but there was a girl hanging onto her arm, so she promptly pried Ally off. Before anyone could even say anything, Dez pushed play and everyone dropped whatever they were doing to watch the projector.

The first scene up was of the closed practice room door. Dez's trained hand kept the camera steady as he nudged the door open, far enough to see Ally and Austin inside.

_ "Okay. Promise not to laugh?" Again, Austin nodded, waiting. Ally took a deep breath, closed her eyes and let 'er rip: 'I've never had a boyfriend." She opened her eyes to find Austin biting his bottom lip, holding in his laughter. "Oh," he managed to get out. "Is that all? I thought it was going to be something embarrassing."_

_ Ally's eyes narrowed and she turned away from him. "Fine, go ahead and laugh," she called over her shoulder. "But I do have a plan on how to fix this."_

_ The boy edged closer to her and grabbed her shoulders, turning her around. "What kind of plan?" he asked. Ally swallowed and began awkwardly, "In order for me to write a love song, I'm going to need some sort of romantic experience. For that to happen, I'm going to need a boyfriend. And so, I thought maybe - "_

_ Again, Austin cut her off. "Whoa, Ally!" he held up his hands in front of himself to stop her. "Look, I'm flattered that you're actually asking ME, but I just don't think of you that way. Okay? Thanks." Ally snickered, combing her fingers through her hair. "You're an egomaniac," she replied bluntly, to which Austin shrugged._

_ "I was asking you to FIND me a boyfriend, not BE my boyfriend. Don't be ridiculous." Austin nodded in understanding. "Ohhhh. That makes more sense. Okay, but how am I supposed to do that?" he asked her, pacing the length of the room. "I dunno. Hold auditions?"_

_ Dez turned the camera around to face himself, smirking into the lens. "Right. Auditions," he whispered. "Like that'll work." He quickly turned the camcorder back around, hearing something interesting. " - be so ridiculous?"_

_ Ally looked up from where she was jotting down a lyric about looking someone in the eyes. That was romantic, right? "Why would what be ridiculous?" she asked him. Austin blushed and refused to meet her eyes. "You know," he said, his voice slightly shaky. "Me being your boyfriend. Why would that be ridiculous?" _

_ The brunette's mouth fell open, but she quickly recovered, stating, "Oh, we just wouldn't be a good match, that's all. I mean, we have almost nothing in common. C'mon, Austin. It's obvious." Austin stepped closer to her, his eyes still trained on his feet. "Well, yeah. But opposites attract sometimes, right? It's just - "_

_ For once, Austin was the one to be cut off. "Why do you care anyway?" Immediately, Austin shut up and turned to face the door. "No reason. Just curious," he said, thankful he was turned away from her in case his face displayed his hurt. _

_ Dez stood up quickly and hurried around the corner before Austin could spot him. "That's a wrap," he said quietly._

Ally's eyes bulged as she recognized the conversation she'd had with Austin about boyfriend auditions. That was never supposed to be heard by anyone else! Well, at least now they knew how Dez had known she'd never had a boyfriend.

The next scene made Austin wince almost immediately. This was one that Ally didn't know about for sure.

_ "There's, like, fifty other questions on the page. You don't know anything about him." Austin crossed his arms and pouted. "Yes, I do," he retorted. "His name's Bryan, he likes heavy metal, which Ally can't stand, and he called her " 'the chick.' " Austin used air quotes around 'the chick.' " _

_ Dez cocked his eyebrow, starting to understand. "And that makes him a bad choice to be Ally's boyfriend?" Austin sputtered, "W-well, yeah! I mean, his name starts with a B! Everyone knows that the best couples have names that start with the same letter! His name should start with A, like Ally!"_

_ "Or Austin, huh?" Austin stared at Dez, red blossoming over his cheeks. "I...I didn't mean..." Dez nodded wisely for perhaps the first time in his life. "Yes, you did. And you're going to keep kicking these guys out for made-up reasons that just happen to work for you. Aren't you?"_

_ Austin took a deep breath, smirked and crumpled up the question sheet, tossing it into a wastebasket. "Does that answer your question?"_

The crowd laughed as Austin's face flushed red, his little secret revealed. How had Dez even filmed that? "I knew there was something up with that interview!" cried one boy, smiling good-naturedly at Austin. Surprisingly, it was all fair in love and war. "If you liked that one," hooted Dez. "You'll really like this one!"

_Flicking his hair to the side, Austin whispered, "Hey, Ally," to his reflection. Then he shook his head and pushed his hair back with his fingers. "Sup, Ally," he tried again, shoving his hands in his pockets and forcing himself to look casual._

Austin stared at the screen, horrified. Even Ally couldn't help the giggles spilling out of her mouth as she watched Austin practice saying hello to her. She shook her head. Dez didn't even need to do this, but it was a lot of fun to watch Austin freak out over her.

_ Austin turned to look at Ally, who did the same. Their eyes met, chocolate brown on chocolate brown, and his breathing became shallow. And then, maybe for the first time, he realized that he maybe really did like her. And not in a "fake relationship" sort of way._

_ "Okay, that sounds good to me," he finally replied to her question, trying to keep his voice steady and not get lost in how truly amazing her eyes were. "Uh...so, should I, em, should I call you my g-girlfriend then?" He swallowed hard and looked down._

_ Ally lifted an eyebrow, wondering why this simple assignment was so hard for Austin to comprehend. Wait...did he just say girlfriend? Ally reached up and tugged a lock of brown hair, studying his face. He looked sort of pained in a way...like he was straining against something..._

_ "Yeah, you probably should," she exhaled. She hadn't even realized she'd been holding her breath. "And I'll call you my boyfriend. And maybe...tonight we can go on a, y'know, a real date." It wasn't a question; more like a statement. Ally knew that wasn't very romantic, but there was a reason she'd never had a boyfriend. "If you want."_

_ Austin couldn't agree fast enough. "Yeah, a date! Totally. That sounds awesome." He nodded and hoped his voice hadn't cracked. Ally firmly pressed her hands together and looked back into his eyes. They really were amazing, with gold flecks that sparkled when he was happy or excited. They kinda reminded her of stars. _

_ "But only if you're going to pay attention to me. Got it? Like, hold my hand or put your arm around me or -" Then, like he was famous for, Austin interrupted Ally by slinging an arm over her shoulder and pulling her closer to his chest. "Like this?" he whispered in her ear, his heart banging against his ribcage. Ally tried to nod, but the fabric of his hoodie was in the way._

_ Shoving herself away, she nodded curtly, but was sure her fervent blushing was totally giving her away. She was supposed to be in charge of this relationship, right? Austin certainly couldn't be. But if he kept up stuff like that, even when he didn't need to, even when they were in private...would anyone blame her for developing feelings for him?_

_ "By the way..." said Ally, casually leaning towards him, smirking for the first time during their relationship and definitely not the last. "Nice hoodie." And just like that, Austin was scarlet red again. _

"I knew it!" screeched Trish as the partygoers awed. "I knew there was something up when we came in and the two of you looked like you'd been stung!" Ally buried her face in her hands, wondering when this nightmare/dream come true would be over.

_ Ally took a sharp intake of breath as Austin's lips neared hers. Obviously, she wasn't in control anymore. And, frightening as it was, she really didn't mind. In fact, it was actually exciting her._

_ Just before their lips met, he paused, giving her a chance to turn away. Ally took the chance to move forward herself and kissed him._

_ His knees buckled as he realized that they were kissing and Ally's arm was winding around his neck and he was grabbing her waist and **this was finally happening!** All too soon, though, Ally broke away, needing air. Oh, yeah. Her first kiss. She probably hadn't known she needed to take in air before they kissed._

_ "Um." Ally burst into laughter hearing how uncharacteristically shy he'd suddenly turned. She pecked him once more on the lips and whispered, "I'll see you tomorrow," before pushing him out the door. After he was gone, she pressed her back against the wall and let out a good, long squeal. She'd kissed Austin. Austin had kissed her. And she could hardly believe how good kissing felt._

Austin felt like screaming, _You even got our kiss? _Seriously, was Dez smarter than they gave him credit for or what? He'd known the whole time and he'd gotten the very best shots. The ones that made him and Ally look the most couple-y. And watching them up on the big screen, he could see how he might've thought that Ally'd had a thing for him. It really did seem like she did. And maybe soon, he'd know for sure.

As the video drew to a close, a freeze frame of the couple's one and only kiss decorating the screen, everyone's favourite ginger **(8) **proudly took his bows. "Thank you, thank you!" he shouted, waving his hands to the appreciative crowd. "And don't forget to pay your respects to the happy couple!"

Ally had decided that enough was enough. Sure, seeing her and Austin's kiss on the big screen was reminding her of that warm, sparky feeling she'd gotten when their lips touched, but there was a big difference between reminiscing and putting up there for pretty much all of Miami to see. Biting her bottom lip, Ally stumbled away from the group, her cheeks burning crimson. She chose instead to stand by the huge bonfire by herself. Realizing that her friend needed space, Trish kept her distance.

Soon (but not soon enough, in his opinion), the concert ended and Austin hopped offstage, searching for Ally. She'd disappeared sometime while everyone was watching the video. His palm-sweating kicked into overdrive as he remembered the video Dez had created.

"So, what'd you think?" Austin yelped and jumped away from Dez, wondering if his thoughts had conjured his best friend up. "I, uh...it was a sick video, man," he assured Dez, clapping him on the shoulder.

Dez smiled, gently removing his friend's hand. "I already know that. I mean, did you like it?" Austin swallowed and nodded quickly, confirming once and for all that he did like Ally Dawson. Dez shifted and pointed Ally out, standing by her lonesome next to the bonfire. "Better go find out what she thought," he smirked, shoving his friend in that direction. Austin nodded gratefully and ran towards Ally.

"So..." the brunette looked up, wanting to scowl but her features melted almost immediately into a small smile. "You really did something good. Wow, can't believe I just said that." Trish **(9)** giggled and Dez scoffed loudly. "I can be smart sometimes." Trish rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay. Let's pretend for a second that this wasn't a fluke."

She looked over at Austin and Ally, soon to be Auslly, quietly talking to each other. "You think that they'll finally figure it out this time?" she asked, looking up at Dez. "Maybe now that it's been laid out for them, you think they'll see it." Dez sighed, "All I can say is, if it doesn't... you are making the next video." Trish gasped excitedly. "Bonus! A new job!" Dez shook his head. "I hate you."

Trish laughed out loud, smacking his arm forcefully. "I hate you too," she assured the boy as Carisa strode over. "Well, this party was a total success!" she squealed as she shuffled through a wad of cash. "This is Austin's pay for the night: $1500. That should be enough, right?" Trish reached for the money, her mouth opening and closing, but no sound coming out. "That should do quite nicely," she replied, snatching up the cash. "Hello, shoe stores!"

Dez slipped the money out of the greedy manager's hands with a "Tsk, tsk. This money is Austin's, Trish. And maybe Ally's, if they ever start dating." The Latino huffed and Carisa pointed at the blonde and brunette standing a little further away. "No need to worry about that, Dez," she observed, giggling.

Dez and Trish looked up, only to see Austin and Ally wrapped up in a passionate kiss. As they pulled away, Ally's eyes sparkling, Trish knew it was true. She grabbed the money back from Dez. "Now that..." she cackled, pausing for emphasis as she thumbed through the bills. "Now that is a wrap!"

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><p><strong>Sigh. Yes, it is, Trish. Yes, it is. It's all over. It's been a journey, one I've been proud to share with you all. You've made me very proud to be an authoress, even if it is just FanFiction. I hope to see you all again soon!<strong>

**1 - Remember when Trish accused her of liking Dallas in Secrets and Songbooks? Think then.**

**2 - My homage to Jonas from that time Joe kept rambling on about Stella.**

**3 - Ahh, Miss Pennyworth. We really need to see Ally talking to her in the actual show.**

**4 - Like you really wanted to see everything that went down in that time. Psssh.**

**5 - Earth to Moon? How could I NOT use that? **

**6 - Now you know why I kept mentioning Ally thinking about looking someone in the eyes! It's a big part of their relationship. As you recall, that's when Austin figured out that he didn't just like Ally - he loves her.**

**7 - You notice how in the show, they only ever play the first verse and the chorus? Same deal here.**

**8 - Besides Ron Weasley, of course! Or so I've been told. Never actually read the books or seen the movies. Must be good though, huh?**

**9 - HAHAHAHAHA! Ah, I got you one last time. Bet you thought that was Ally! Naw, I figured it would be cool to end it off from the secondary characters' point of view. **

**Well, that's it. I've got nothing left and it's an hour to 2012. I really hope you guys liked it because as it stands this chapter, including my author's notes, is more than 6, 500 words long. Yep, I wrote a novel. Hehehe. And for the last time, let me leave you with a note to review on: REVIEW IN THE NAME OF 2012 AND THE WORLD NOT ENDING! Because I do not believe in all the mumbo-jumbo. **


	9. BONUS!

**Hi ER! Weren't expecting this, were ya? No, no, I'm not continuing B&B or anything. It's just that I got a lot of reviews from people who disliked the way it ended. They wanted to see the conversation between Austin and Ally at the end. Well, as you might have noticed, I'm a bit of a people pleaser (think Fabian from House of Anubis. The poor guy's a pushover.), so I decided, "Hey, why not put the conversation that they're craving so bad?" So, here it is! I didn't spend that long on it because, well, a) it's only one conversation and b) it's fifteen minutes to one in the morning and my brother is pestering me to go to bed. Anyways, enjoy!**

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><p><strong>You're not seriously going to make me do a disclaimer, are you? I'm TIRED. And I have studying to do tomorrow! You already know I don't own Austin and Ally. If I did, I could pay people to sleep for me! (And yes, I know that made no sense.)<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: BONUS!<strong>

Dez smiled, gently removing his friend's hand. "I already know that. I mean, did you like it?" Austin swallowed and nodded quickly, confirming once and for all that he did like Ally Dawson. Dez shifted and pointed Ally out, standing by her lonesome next to the bonfire. "Better go find out what she thought," he smirked, shoving his friend in that direction. Austin nodded gratefully and ran towards Ally.

"So..." Ally glanced up, studying the nervous expression on Austin's face. She burst out smiling. He couldn't really still think that she wasn't interested in him, could he? After being faced with all that evidence that she was totally head over heels? Austin cleared his throat and continued, "You...you look really pretty tonight. Beautiful, really."

Ally blushed and smoothed out her dress, finally realizing why girls spent so much time obsessing over the way they looked in front of boys. It was all completely worth it if Austin would call her beautiful. "Yeah, well, you look pretty amazing too," she replied, nudging him slightly with her shoulder.

Austin smiled, then coughed discreetly into his fist. He knew he was avoiding the conversation, but Ally wasn't exactly steering him towards it. Did that mean that she wasn't into him the same way he was into her?

The brunette in question took a deep breath and faced him, looking directly into his eyes. It didn't matter how many times she gazed into those big, brown orbs: they could captivate her the same way every single time. Unconsciously, Ally reached up, her fingertips ghosting over his jaw. Austin closed his eyes tight and tried to come up with the proper words to say.

"It was a great video, don't you think?" Luckily, with Ally around, he didn't have to. He nodded profusely, answering, "Yeah, yeah. I loved it." Ally smiled wide and placed her palms on either side of Austin's face, bringing him down to her level to set her forehead against his. "Me too," she whispered, smoothing back some strands of his blonde hair. "You look really, really cute on-camera."

The blonde grinned and without another word, leaned down to press his lips to hers. Ally responded immediately, clutching at the back of his neck and winding her slim fingers through his hair. Austin groaned and wrapped his arms firmly around her waist, lifting Ally up into the air as they kissed. She leaned away and laughed out loud as Austin swung her around. "Would you stop that?" she shrieked. "You're gonna get me burnt!" But Austin didn't stop and deep down, Ally really didn't want him to.

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><p><strong>I'm quite aware of how short it is, but honestly, what were you expecting? It was just a little thing I did because I was intensely bored and I'm not the biggest fan of sleeping. I think maybe tomorrow I'll try writing a one-shot for something. Hmmm. I've been in a write-y mood this weekend.<strong>

**REVIEW IF YOU LOVE SLEEPING! Because I think it's SO boring and I don't understand why anyone would do it willingly. Usually, I fall asleep while listening to my iPod.**

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